The Twilight Chronicles
by PokemonHero
Summary: The Twilight Chronicles is based off of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. In it, we meet Zach, a human who finds himself turned into a Pokemon. Now he and his new friends, Eevee and Bulbasaur, must save the world from eternal darkness. Chapter 9 now up.
1. Prologue: The Cliffs by the Sea

Prologue: The Cliffs by the Sea

**Prologue: The Cliffs by the Sea**

Zach sighed and looked back at the town. _I am never going back_, he thought. Normally a moment like this would make him feel emotional. But this was different. He felt no remorse for leaving this town, even though it was where he grew up. He had nothing left there. No friends, no family, not even a person who knew his name.

His clothes were worn out greatly. His jeans had numerous holes in them, and his T-shirt was gray, though when he first got the shirt it was red. His brown hair was very unkempt and his shoes barely fit. Yet he stood there like he was one of the heroes of old off on a quest.

He put this out of his mind and looked out ahead of him. In front of where he stood, not even a hundred yards away, a sheer cliff dropped down to the sea below, rocks jutting out from the sea bottom at its base. But from where he stood the views were amazing. The setting sun created sharp contrasts on the surface of the sea as rolled towards the cliffs.

_One era of my life ends_, he thought looking out over the sea, _and another begins_. He started strolling down a path. On his right was the cliff that led to the sea; on the left there was a patch of woods. Due to the terrain this was the only place a path could be put, running parallel between where the forest ends and the sea begins.

Zach sat down against a giant rock and took off his backpack. He pulled out a sandwich and started eating. _No one will miss me_, he thought and he knew that he was right. He ran away from the orphanage in the town, where he had lived since he was nine. Now fifteen, he was tired of being held down.

He used to have a family: a mother and a father. However, one rainy day, Zach and his parents were driving home when their car was hit head on. His parents were killed instantly, yet he somehow escaped without injury. Many times Zach found himself, especially on rainy nights, wondering why he survived, why hadn't he died like the rest of his family? As the times passed, his memories of his parents had faded. He somewhat remembered their faces, full of compassion and caring. But they grew bleary over time.

Tears filled his eyes as he thought about them. He wiped his tears. The orphanage was horrible. It was so crowded that at times many kids would not even have beds to sleep on. Many families had come on looked at the kids during his time there. Not once had any of them inquired about him. He wasn't the best looking of the kids and he wasn't gifted in any sort of way. He was a quiet person, modest in action. Many times he had given up his bed to a younger kid or someone who was new. He felt their pain, even if they couldn't feel his. None of them talked to him, none tried to form friendships. They knew that forming friendships made it a lot tougher for them to find a home.

Now here he was, sitting in the world, without anyone looking after him. This is how he preferred it now. He would look after himself and try to accomplish his greatest goal: to become the greatest Pokemon trainer, a dream he had held since his parents were still alive. This goal was now more important than ever to him. It was his major connection to his parents, a way to feel their presence.

Zach was off to the nearest town. There was the lab of a professor who had given many new trainers in the region their starting Pokemon. He thought about what Pokemon he wanted to get. _I always wanted a Chimchar_, he thought, remembering a Chimchar that his former neighbors used to have. He was an amusing Pokemon, often making faces at people behind their backs and having fun. _That is the Pokemon I want_, he decided, _someone who is carefree and fun_. He settled down to rest his tired body.

Just as he was starting to relax, a loud cry pierced the evening air and Zach's ears. He looked around him for the source of the noise. Suddenly a flurry of action came pouring out of the woods. A Chimchar came staggering out and ran towards the boulder where Zach was sitting. Before he could make, a large dog-like Pokemon landed in front of him and cut him off. _A Houndoom_, Zach thought, looking at the large Pokemon's jet-black fur and horn-like ears. The poor Chimchar turned around to go back into the woods, but two more Houndoom jumped out and blocked his escape path.

Zach could only watch as the three Houndoom attacked at once, biting and tossing it in the air like a rag doll. Chimchar had no way to defend the attacks. _They're going to kill that Chimchar_, he started to think, _why do they want to kill it? What has it done to them?_ The Houndoom backed off for a break in the attack. Chimchar laid flat on the ground, barely breathing. If he stood up, the Houndoom would finish him for sure. They stood watching their prey, eyes blazing with the desire to kill. Zach decided that it was time to act.

He reached down and picked up a few medium sized stones. Then he stepped out from behind the rock.

"Hey you!" he shouted at the pack, "Pick on someone your own size."

At once all three Houndoom turned to face Zach. They looked even more savage than they had from the behind the rock. _Now or never_, he thought. He wound up and threw one of his stones at the closest Houndoom. The stone hit the ground in front of it. Now the Houndoom came charging at Zach, their desire to kill directed at the new target.

"Oh crap," he muttered under his breath as the Houndoom charged at him, "I forgot about this." Immediately, he started to climb the giant rock. He looked back at where Chimchar laid. The poor Pokemon was breathing heavy and unable to stand.

"Chimchar!" Zach yelled to the Pokemon, "Get out of here! This is your chance." However, Chimchar couldn't stand up. _He's too tired and beat up_, he thought sadly, _How can I save him?_

A sharp pain interrupted his thoughts. One of the Houndoom grabbed his left ankle and was pulling him down off the rock. Zach tried desperately to kick off Houndoom with his free leg. Houndoom, however was too strong. He was dragged down to the ground and found himself surrounded by the three Houndoom. _Now what?_ he now thought, cornered against the rock. His hand found his backpack lying next to him on the ground. It gave him an idea.

Without hesitating, he grabbed the backpack and stood up. Holding onto one of the straps, Zach swung it around in a large, looping arch in front of him. He hit one of Houndoom in the face and sent it staggering backwards towards the edge of the cliff. Zach now threatened the other two with the backpack. They backed up to where their comrade had landed, hoping to avoid being hit. Now Zach was forcing all three Houndoom backward towards the edge of the cliff. _It's actually working_, he thought, continuing to pressure the three backward.

However one of the Houndoom noticed how close to the edge they were getting. It decided that enough was enough and went after Zach. He swung the bag with all his might at the charging Pokemon, but he missed. Houndoom launched himself on top of Zach and started ripping at his already sore and cut-up body. The others two cried triumphantly when they saw this opportunity and attacked as well.

Zach wouldn't give up. "I will not die this way!" he yelled out. He started kicking and punching at the Houndoom that were attacking. He grabbed one of them by its horn-like ears and, using most of his strength, tossed it off of him. They were now right at the edge of the cliff. You could clearly see the waves crash violently against the rocks below.

Suddenly, the ground started to buckle and crumble beneath Zach and the Houndoom. Before anyone could react, the ground gave way. All of them were sent plummeting down. The Houndoom cried out in fear for their lives. Zach, however remained silent.

_So this is how I die_, he thought morosely, as the rocks grew closer, _Is this why I didn't die in that car wreck? So I could die doing something more important? Was I never meant to live a happy life? Was I never supposed to have…a family?_

He sighed. "At least I died doing good."

After he said this, his body landed into the sea below and was sent crashing against a giant rock. He felt great pain through his body. Then everything went black and he felt no more.

Chimchar stood up and looked to where the boy was just standing. He had just watched as the cliff gave out below him and sent him and the Houndoom falling down to the sea below.

_No_, he thought, as he staggered to where the ground gave way. _No, please no. He can't be…No way_. He looked down the cliff to the waters below. In the twilight, all he could see was churning sea crashing into the rocks below. Chimchar could see no signs of the boy or the Houndoom that had pursued him.

Then, a little ways down, he spotted something. At one place, a beach had formed at the base of the cliffs, as the cliffs had eroded greatly there. A large object had just washed up upon the sands. _Could it be…?_

Chimchar ran to where the cliff was shortest at this area. Then, slowly as to not fall himself, he climbed down the cliff face to beach below. He was exhausted when he reached the bottom, but when he saw what the object was, he forgot about any pain or tiredness he felt. He staggered to where it lay. When he realized what it was he sat down next to it, put his head on its chest, and started to cry.

It was the boy's body.

"Why…" Chimchar choked up between tears, "why did you do this? Why did you try to save me? Why didn't you run away when things got bad?"

He knew no response would come from the boy, but he couldn't help asking these questions. Never had he seen anyone, human or Pokemon, give up so much to do something for someone so poor and weak. He continued to cry until he felt like no more tears would come out.

_Someone like me_, he thought, a feeling of guilt overwhelming him. He had known better than to enter the Houndoom's territory, but he did anyway. He knew he couldn't fight back against the Houndoom, yet he tried to fight them and was sorely beaten. This boy, without a single thought for his own safety, raced to protect him. _My stupidity had cost the life of an innocent human_.

Chimchar wiped his nose and looked up at the sky. Darkness had now fallen, and the first stars started to appear. Though he couldn't see it from where he sat, the moon was beginning to rise high in the sky behind him.

He looked pleadingly towards the heavens and folded his hands in a reverent sort of way. "Please," he began to speak, "if someone, anyone can hear me. Please someone help this boy's soul so it dies forever. Please, I beg. He gave his life up to protect me. Don't let this be it for him. Someone…please…"

Suddenly, a bright pulsating ball of light appeared in front of Chimchar. It was small at first, about the size of a small Cheri berry. But it grew in size exponentially into a large orb, twice as big as his head. This large orb then split into three orbs of the same size. Chimchar watched amazed by what he was seeing, as these orbs morphed into three Pokemon, floating in the air. Chimchar immediately recognized that these were the legendary Pokemon of the lakes of Sinnoh: Azelf, the "Being of Willpower" and guardian of Lake Valor; Mespirit, the "Being of Emotion" and guardian of Lake Verity; and Uxie, the "Being of Knowledge" and guardian of Lake Acuity. They had been created by the Original One to keep the world in balance. Chimchar turned his eyes away, feeling greatly unworthy of being in their presence.

"Why do you look away from us?" Mespirit inquired of him, speaking kindly and with caring. "It is all alright to look. Do not be afraid." Chimchar turned to face the three in front of him. Mespirit had a gentle smile on her face directed towards him. The others, however, had more serious looks on their faces.

"We heard your crying and your prayer," Uxie said, "and we have come to help."

"You…you…you have?" Chimchar responded gratefully, "I…I…don't know what to say…th…thank…thank you."

"However," Azelf spoke in a commanding voice, "we cannot make any guarantees. It is not our decision to make."

"That's right," Uxie said, "That is up to someone more powerful than us."

"Is that him over there?"

Chimchar nodded. "Yes that is him."

Azelf looked at Uxie and both nodded in agreement. "We shall take him with us," Azelf said, "and try to convince the Original One to reprieve his soul and give him a new life." With that Azelf grabbed the boy's arms while Uxie grabbed his legs. Then the two of them disappeared along with the body. Mespirit was about to follow them when Chimchar grabbed her arm.

"Please," Chimchar begged, down on his knees, "let me come with you. Let me help."

Mespirit shook her head. "Unfortunately, there's not much you can do. Only Azelf, Uxie, and myself can really do this. The Original One created us when the world began, and not many other beings can approach him like us. I am very sorry."

Chimchar's head hung in disappointment. Mespirit puts her hands on his shoulders.

"Don't worry," Mespirit assured him, "We will make sure that he gets another chance. You, my friend, need to get rest. You've had a very long and stressful day. Good bye."

Mespirit turned away from Chimchar and disappeared into the darkness, following the others. Chimchar was now alone the beach. He looked at the cliff face that towered above him. _There's no way I can climb back up_, he thought feeling the pains of battle from earlier. He looked and found a pile of leaves nearby. Quietly, he set to work making a bed out of the leaves in a spot protected from the wind. As he fell asleep, two words left his lips, two words he wished that he had said to the boy before he died or to Mespirit before leaving…

"Thank you…"

End Prologue


	2. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

**Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

"Is he breathing?"

"I don't know. Let's move closer."

Zach slowly opened up his eyes. _Where am I?_ He was looking up at a perfect blue sky above him. He could see the tops of leafy green trees towering high above him. He could hear the sound of running water, which he guessed, was from a nearby creek. It was warm, yet a cool breeze swept across his body, making him shiver a little.

He sat up and started to rub his head, which had a dull ache. He thought he heard voices, but believed they were in his head. "What's going on here?"

A Pokemon walked up next to him. It looked very much like a dog and had very thick brown and white fur. Its black eyes looked at Zach with curiosity. "You mean you don't know how you ended up here?" a female voice asked. But it didn't come from a person; it came from the Pokemon.

Zach did a double-take, "Did…you…did you just talk?"

"Yeah," she answered, as though it seemed quite obvious, "My name's Eevee, what's yours?"

Zach crawled away from Eevee as quickly as possible. "But…but…you're not supposed to talk."

"Well, her mouth is moving isn't it?" a new voice responded from behind him. This was a strong male voice. Zach turned around and found himself staring at what looked like a blue-green dinosaur with large green bulb on its back. "My name's Bulbasaur by the way."

Zach tried to convince himself that he hadn't heard him. "Okay, this is a joke, right? Someone's idea of a sick joke by making me believe that Pokemon can talk?"

Eevee started to walk over towards Zach. "You're a Pokemon too. You know that right? Maybe you need some more rest. You might have…"

"I'm not a Pokemon! I'm a human!" Zach yelled at her angrily, cutting her off. She stopped where she was standing.

"Uh, let's see…" Bulbasaur started, looking over Zach, "Red hair all over your body. Flaming butt. Giant ears. Eyes disproportional with the rest of your head. Either you are some midget human dressed in a Chimchar costume, or you're a Chimchar."

"But I'm not…"

"Look," Bulbasaur cut Zach off, "Look at your reflection over in the creek. Maybe that will convince you." He pointed in the direction of the sound of the running water.

"Fine," Zach conceded, bringing himself to his feet. For some odd reason, he felt very short. He walked over towards the creek and got on his knees. _What if they're telling the truth_, he thought to himself. _No, they can't be telling the truth, it can't be true_. Slowly, he looked into the water.

A Chimchar's face reflected back at him.

They hadn't been lying. _I am really am a Chimchar_. He fell backward and sat on the ground. "But I'm a human. This has got to be a dream," he cried, burying his head into his hands, "It can't be anything else. It's gotta be a dream…"

Eevee walked over to Zach and sat down next to him on his left. "This isn't a dream," she said, putting a paw onto his shoulder, "I don't know what's going on with you. Are you okay?"

Zach shook his head, "I just woke up here. I can't remember anything. The only things I know are my name and that I am human."

"Nothing else?"

"No," Zach said sadly, "nothing. I really want to know what's going on."

Bulbasaur walked over to Zach and Eevee. "From the looks of things, we know just about as much as you do."

Zach looked at Eevee and Bulbasaur. There were genuine looks of concern on their faces. Obviously, they were worried about him. He had a question to ask, something that had really been bugging him the whole time. "Do you believe me?"

They looked confused. "About what?" Eevee asked.

"About me being human. Do you believe me?"

Bulbasaur nodded, "Yes, we believe you. Something about the way you acted seemed…"

"…odd," Eevee finished. "You seem quite intent on believing you are human. Plus, its kinda strange you just appeared here with no memory."

"Thanks," Zach sighed, relieved, "I thought I was going insane."

"Well there is still that possibility…"

"Hey…"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Eevee chuckled.

"That's not funny," Zach responded sternly, but he wasn't angry. In actuality he felt much more relaxed now. _They believe me. Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought…_

Bulbasaur tapped Eevee's shoulder. "We've got to get back to the village. We still need to find our last member for our Rescue Squad."

Eevee looked back at Bulbasaur and nodded, "Right." She looked over to Zach. "You should come with us. We can find somewhere for you to stay in the village until you can find somewhere to live permanently. Unless of course, you want to stay in the woods…"

Zach was confused. "Pokemon have villages?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot you're new around here," Eevee started, "Yes, there are villages. Humans just have no way to get to them."

Zach thought about it for a moment. The village sounded very interesting. Plus there would be many other Pokemon there. Maybe someone there could help him.

"Alright," Zach replied, "I'll come with you guys. I've got nowhere else to go."

"Awesome," Bulbasaur said, running past Zach, "Last one to the village is a rotten Exeggcute!"

"Wait up," Eevee yelled after Bulbasaur, running after him.

Zach stood there for a moment and shrugged. _This is gonna be interesting_, he thought to himself, as he ran off after the others.

End Chapter 1


	3. Chapter 2: Team Twilight

Chapter 2: Team Twilight

**Chapter 2: Team Twilight**

"I told you we should've taken a left at the tree back there."

"No, we're going the right way. This takes you past the lake and to the village."

"You're wrong. We needed to take a left to get to the lake."

"What is about you and left turns?"

"I like lefts…"

Zach sighed. He had been listening to Bulbasaur and Eevee argue as the three of them walked along a seemingly endless path. _Maybe I should have stayed back where I was_, he thought to himself, but he quickly shook it from his mind. He had nowhere else to go and they had been eager to help him out. _And they actually believe me…_

Zach hadn't been paying attention to the path and nearly fell over a rock that jutted out in front of him. Quickly, he regained his composure and continued walking. Neither Eevee or Bulbasaur had noticed what happened; they were still arguing about directions.

"…I told you," Eevee said, gritting her teeth, "we are going the right way."

"But we aren't," Bulbasaur retorted, "We needed to go…"

Before Bulbasaur could finish, Zach broke in. "Could you two just stop arguing?" he asked the two of them. They stopped and looked back at Zach.

"Sorry, uh…" Bulbasaur started, but he had to stop. Zach realized why.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you my name. It's Zach."

"Okay Zach. Sorry."

"That's a nice name," Eevee said thoughtfully, "I guess your parents named you that."

"I guess," Zach replied, rubbing the back of his head as he walked over to the others. "I don't remember how I got it. I just know that it's Zach."

"Oh yeah," Eevee said quietly to herself, remembering that Zach had no memory of being human. "I shouldn't have said that."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Nothing…"

Zach shrugged and they resumed walking along the path towards what they thought (or at least what Eevee and Zach thought) was the way out of the woods. Zach decided to try and learn more about the world he was in now.

"So you guys said you were trying to find a final member for what now?" he asked curiously, remembering the conversation that Eevee and Bulbasaur had earlier.

"A Rescue Squad," Eevee replied excitedly, "Bulbasaur and I have been trying to form one for a while now."

"But what exactly is a Rescue Squad?"

"You're joking right?" Bulbasaur asked him with a curious look.

"Well remember I'm kinda new and all…"

"Right, sorry," Bulbasaur apologized. Then he explained to Zach what a Rescue Squad was. "Basically, there are disasters and accidents happening constantly around us. So there are groups of Pokemon called Rescue Squads who go out and rescue other Pokemon and try to solve what is causing the problems."

Eevee nodded. "A few years ago there were many disasters involving the weather. But that problem was solved and recently, things have been a little quieter."

"But," Bulbasaur continued, "there are still accidents and Pokemon that need to be rescued. And that's where Eevee and I come in. We are, well we will be when we get our last member, Team Twilight..."

"Cool name," Zach broke in.

"Yeah, I thought that you might like it." Bulbasaur went on to explain all aspects of Rescue Squads, from the Dungeons to the Missions and Rewards. Zach listened with great interest.

_Wow_, Zach thought, _that sounds kind of exciting._ "Maybe I could be that last person…er…I mean Pokemon," he suggested, changing the last part of what he said. _Darn it Zach, you have to think like a Pokemon. You're a Pokemon now._

"I'm sorry man," Bulbasaur told Zach promptly, "but we're kinda looking for someone with a little more experience. No offense to you, but we want to get started right away."

"I hope you understand," Eevee said to consul him.

"Don't worry, I understand," Zach replied with some disappointment, "Maybe I could find another Squad later."

Bulbasaur nodded. "There's plenty around. You should be able to find a Squad

The group had now reached break in the woods. A large, crystal-clear lake spread out in front of them. The water rippled gently and the reeds by the shore swayed in the breeze.

"Ha," Eevee chortled triumphantly, looking at Bulbasaur, "I told you we were going the right way."

"Get off it," Bulbasaur replied.

But before another argument could begin, a rumbling sound interrupted them. Eevee and Bulbasaur looked back at Zach.

"Sorry," he apologized to them, "Guess I'm hungry."

"Yeah I'm hungry too," Bulbasaur said, smiling.

"Look," Eevee said, pushing past Zach and Bulbasaur towards a bush. "Oran Berries!" Sure enough, Zach could see numerous blue berries ripe for the harvest on the bush Eevee was running towards. She began picking a few off the bush. "Here, try some," offering some of the Oran Berries to them.

Zach heard something unwinding from behind him. A vine whipped past Zach head. He had just ducked at the last second to avoid being hit by it. The vine grabbed an Oran Berry from Eevee's paws and retracted back past Zach's head again. It was then that he realized that the vine had come from the bulb on Bulbasaur's back. Bulbasaur sat down and ate his Berry, a look of pleasure on his face as he savored every bite.

Zach walked over to Eevee. He took one of the Berries out of Eevee's paws. "You sure these aren't poisonous?"

She chuckled, "Of course not. They actually boost your energy and health. Try it."

Still Zach hesitated. However, he saw both Bulbasaur and Eevee eat their Berries with no ill effects. Well, I might as well. He took a small bite out of it. Immediately, he felt a rush of energy flow through his body as the sweet taste filled his mouth. "Whoa…"

"Yes?" asked Eevee, looking at him curiously.

"This…this…this…IS AWESOME!!" Zach exclaimed, and before you could say another word, he had eaten the rest of the Berry. "Man those are good…"

Eevee sighed. I keep forgetting that he's new, she thought to herself. Maybe he could join us. She decided to take counsel with Bulbasaur. "Hey Bulba…"

A loud cry of pain cut her off. Zach and Bulbasaur had heard it as well and were trying to figure out where it came from. "There," Zach yelled pointing somewhere across the lake. Sure enough, the cry came up again from where Zach was pointing, sending a few bird Pokemon flying out of the trees.

Eevee looked at Bulbasaur and nodded. "Come on, we got to see what's up."

With that, Eevee and Bulbasaur started running as fast as they could around the lake to the sound. Zach hesitated for a moment. Should I follow them? He knew that if a fight broke out, he wouldn't be able to do anything. But what if they needed help? His heart was pounding. He couldn't just stand here waiting for them. He had to see what was going on.

Zach got to his feet and picked a few Oran Berries off a nearby bush. These could be useful, he thought to himself, remembering what Eevee had told him about them. Silently, he ran as fast as he could to try and catch up with Eevee and Bulbasaur.

End Chapter 2


	4. Chapter 3: Burning Ambition

Chapter 3: Burning Ambition

**Chapter 3: Burning Ambition**

Zach had to stop to catch his breath. _Man those guys are fast_, he thought to himself. He could still hear the crying, but it had become much less frequent. _I hope we're not too late_. He started running again, ignoring a stitch that pained his left side.

A few yards in front of him, Eevee and Bulbasaur were peaking through a bush. "Hey guys…" he gasped as he approached them.

"Be quiet," Bulbasaur snapped at him in a whisper, "Do you want us to be heard?"

"Sorry," Zach responded, now whispering himself. "What's going on?"

"Take a look," Eevee answered, moving aside. She had formed a small hole in the bush that was perfect for looking through without being seen. Zach stepped up and looked through. Almost as soon as he looked, he recoiled back in horror. He brought himself back to looking.

He could see a giant spider web in front of him. Trapped in the web was a small, blue-and-white squirrel. It was struggling at the web, trying to break free. However his efforts were futile.

"What's that?" Zach asked Bulbasaur.

"A Pachirisu," he told him. "I think I've seen him in the village."

"We've gotta help him."

"Okay," Eevee broke in, looking between Zach and Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur and I will try to free Pachirisu from the web. Zach, stay back here out of sight."

"Why?" he asked curiously.

Bulbasaur shook his head. "If something bad happens, we need you to go to the village…"

"But I don't know…"

"Look it's easy. You see that tree over there."

"Yeah."

"Go to the left of it…"

"Are you sure it's a left?"

"Yes it is a left. Eevee agreed with me."

Zach looked over at Eevee. She nodded in agreement. "Alright," he sighed, "Go to the left of the tree…"

"Keep going straight. You'll leave the forest. The village is within sight from there."

"Okay," Zach said confidently. But truthfully, he still doubted Bulbasaur's directions, "Are you…"

Eevee quickly jumped between the two of them and cover both their mouths with her front paws.

"Quiet," she whispered harshly, "its back."

Silently, Zach crawled over to the peeking hole in the bush and looked through. Now in the clearing, a giant spider stood glaring evilly at his prey. Pachirisu was panicking, but he noticed the cries were noticeably muffled. He realized that Ariados had covered Pachirisu's mouth with some web.

He turned back to the others. "Man that's a nasty looking fellow there."

"You aren't kidding," Bulbasaur agreed with Zach, "That's an Ariados. This is going to be a little more difficult."

"Think about it though," Eevee broke in, "There's one of him and two…"

"Ahem…" Zach interjected.

"Alright three of us," Eevee corrected herself. "We do the same thing as before. Zach, be prepared to find back-up if we need it."

"Right."

"Okay then. Bulbasaur, you ready?"

Bulbasaur glanced oddly at Eevee for a second, then sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

With that, Eevee and Bulbasaur crept silently out through the bushes into the clearing. Zach went back to the hole in the bush and looked through. Eevee stood confidently as she stared at the giant spider in front of her; Bulbasaur, on the other hand, was clearly nervous, shaking at the knees.

Ariados obviously sensed their presence and turned to face them. "Ah," he rasped delightfully. "Who are these…interesting…little ones who have disturbed my supper?" Pachirisu cried as loud as he could with the wrappings over his mouth.

Eevee spoke first. "We're Team Twilight," she spoke confidently, "and we are here for Pachirisu."

"Ah, but of course," Ariados responded. "I should have expected a Rescue Squad. But I noticed there is only two of you and neither of you have on scarves or badges…"

"Well…" Bulbasaur spoke, embarrassed by this fact. "We're still kinda new."

"You jest," Ariados chuckled as he looked over their faces. "Or maybe you don't. But let's get back you disturbing my supper."

"Your supper," Eevee snapped angrily, "is an innocent Pachirisu…"

"Now let's not accuse anyone of foul play. This creature entered my territory and those who enter run the risk of being eaten." He now glared savagely at them. "As you are about to learn."

Before Eevee and Bulbasaur could react, two more Ariados came done from trees surrounding the clearing. Zach couldn't believe what he was seeing. _It's a trap. They were waiting for us_.

"So you're gonna play that way, huh?" said Eevee as she and Bulbasaur looked between the three Ariados. "Fine. TACKLE." She charged headlong towards one of the new arrivals.

Bulbasaur prepared to attack as well. "VINE WHIP!" As had happened earlier, vines whipped out from the bulb on his back and lashed out at the other new arrival.

None of the Ariados were surprised. Almost in unison, they all shouted, "STRING SHOT!" At once, something that looked like white thread shot out of their mouths and wrapped around Eevee and Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur's vines snapped back into his bulb while Eevee tumbled as the string wrapped around her. Only their heads were visible from the string that surrounded them. They struggled to try and free themselves, but they couldn't.

Zach covered his mouth so he wouldn't make a sound. _They're trapped_, he thought to himself. He remembered what Eevee had told him to do. But he couldn't move. He was frozen in terror.

The Ariados chuckled amongst themselves. It was then that Zach realized how much bigger the original Ariados was compared to the ones who jumped Eevee and Bulbasaur. _That must be the one in charge_, he thought. Something hot was building up in his chest as he grew angrier watching these creatures laugh about their latest victims. The boss stood in the middle of the three.

"So," the boss Ariados spoke, "I guess we all have something to eat."

"Wait boss," the Ariados on his left broke in, "I thought I heard the two of talking to someone before they entered the clearing." He pointed over at Bulbasaur and Eevee.

Sweat rolled down Zach's forehead profusely. _They heard me_, he panicked, _They're going to come after me next…_

"Really," the boss Ariados rasped with greed. He looked at Eevee, "I thought you said you had no third member."

Eevee clenched her teeth. "We don't have a third member."

"And besides," Bulbasaur chimed in as he struggled with his bindings, "He's probably far away by now." Grins (or at least something that looked like grins) came across the three Ariados faces. "What did I say…oh crap…"

"So you admit you lied to us then," the boss Ariados snapped, while the others chuckled behind him, "You do have a third member." They approached Eevee and Bulbasaur, their eyes glaring at them with a desire to kill. "We don't like liars…"

"They aren't lying." Something inside Zach made him forget all the fears he had. What it was that made him go through the bush into the clearing, he couldn't explain; he found himself staring down three Pokemon that were much larger than him and already fairly angry.

"Zach, what are you doing?" Eevee pleaded. "Get out of…"

"SILENCE!" the boss Ariados snapped at her. Eevee remained quiet and looked at Zach with great fear. Boss Ariados continued. "So you decided to show up to rescue your Squad mates…"

"I am not a member…" Zach interjected.

"DON'T INTERRUPT BOSS ARIADOS!" the Ariados on the right shouted angrily at Zach.

"I don't give a damn about your Boss Ariados. …" Zach spat at the group.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT HIM…"

"It's alright comrade," Boss Ariados cut in. "Let our…guest finish what he was saying."

"Right," Zach replied, "As if you won't disregard it and eat me anyways."

"Actually we intended to just kill you," Boss Ariados began, "But I like your attitude. So I'm giving you a choice." He strolled casually over to where Eevee and Bulbasaur laid on the ground. "You may leave with your life and let us have these three. Or you can join them."

Zach did not even have to think about how to respond. "Let them go or else."

All three Ariados stared at Zach for a moment, wondering if he was actually serious, then they broke out in laughter. The red-hot feeling in his chest had turned into an inferno.

"I'LL SHOW YOU!" Zach snapped. Then, unconsciously, he yelled out, "EMBER!"

Small balls of flame shot out of his mouth and hit the Ariados on the left in his eyes.

"I'M BLIND," he shouted in pain. Blindly, he ran around the clearing until he ran head on into a tree. A large, dead branch fell from high in the tree onto his head, knocking out cold.

Zach couldn't believe. "I didn't know I could do that," he said with a slight hint of amusement, "Heck I could get used to this."

Boss Ariados stared at Zach with interest, but said nothing. The other Ariados, on the other hand…

"How dare you…" he snapped at Zach. "How dare you attack my brother? POISON STING!"

With that, a large number of sharp needles shot directly at Zach. _Well if it worked once_, he thought to himself. "EMBER!"

Once again small balls of flame shot out of his mouth, colliding with Poison Sting in mid-air. Zach smirked. "Come on, is that the best you got?" Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Eevee and Bulbasaur watching him wide-eyed in total disbelief of what they were seeing.

"That's it," the Ariados spat again. "STRING SHOT!"

White threads shot out of his mouth at Zach. Yet he wasn't nervous. "So you wanna play that way huh," Zach said under his breath. "FLAME WHEEL!"

All of a sudden, flames surrounded Zach's body. However, it didn't hurt in the least bit. The threads shot from Ariados's mouth burnt to nothing as they made contact with Zach's body. _Well I get the flame part_, he thought, _but what about the…_

Then, without a second thought, he started somersaulting towards his attacker. Before the Ariados could react, Zach collided head on with him. Zach recoiled and landed on his feet, facing his foe. The Ariados staggered backwards, visible burn marks all over the front of his body. He stood for a moment, threatening to respond, but collapsed and fainted.

Zach now faced Boss Ariados. "It's just you and me now," he said wiping some sweat from his brow. He was breathing a little bit heavier then he did when the battle began.

Boss Ariados looked over Zach and smiled. "It appears that my brothers and I underestimated you," he conceded. "But I am a much more powerful opponent than my brothers. And I guarantee that that was your last victory."

"That is where you continue to underestimate me." Zach charged towards Boss Ariados. "EMBER!"

Boss Ariados quickly countered "POISON STING!" The small balls of flame collide with sharp needles in an explosion. Smoke and dust filled the clearing, causing him to lose sight of Zach. When it cleared, Zach was nowhere to be seen. "Where did he go?" He searched every part of the clearing. Eevee, Bulbasaur, and Pachirisu were still there, but he didn't care about them. "Come out you little monkey. I just want to kill you."

Zach was hiding in a nearby tree, out of sight of anyone in the clearing. _Man this is getting intense_, he thought, _I've got to figure something out. He'll counter my long-range attacks, so I guess I have to go for close-range_. Boss Ariados now stood right below Zach. _This is too perfect_. "FLAME WHEEL!"

He dove out of the tree towards Boss Ariados below. He felt himself being surrounded by flames and started somersaulting at a rapid speed. By the time Boss Ariados realized where Zach was, it was too late. Zach landed directly on his back. His foe let out a great yell of pain. Zach felt the flames recede and jumped off Boss Ariados' back. His back was to his fallen foe as he looked over to where Eevee and Bulbasaur were tied up. Looks of relief came across their faces.

"Don't worry guys," Zach said. "I'll get you…"

Suddenly, Bulbasaur's eyes widened in terror. "ZACH LOOK OUT!"

Zach was about to turn around, when a sharp pain overcame his body. He grimaced in pain and fell to his knees. A shadowy figure leaped over him and landed between Zach and the others.

"Never," Boss Ariados rasped. "Never turn your back on me."

Zach tried to stand up, but he felt something surging through his body that made him feel sick. "You…what have you done?" he spoke painfully.

Boss Ariados grinned maniacally. "Poison is a nasty thing isn't it. And you, my friend, just felt a Poison Jab. You feel it don't you? You feel the poison gradually sapping the life out of you. Your own body is failing on you as you sit there. Soon you will be begging me to kill you."

A wave of panic came across Zach's mind. I don't want to die. He looked over and saw Eevee. Her eyes began to wheal with tears. She knew what was happening to him. His eyes filled with tears as well. _Good-bye Eevee, Bulbasaur. I wish I could've gotten to know you better…_

"Use Fire Punch…"

Zach looked back at Eevee, but it hadn't come from her. It didn't sound like her at all. This voice was different from anything he had ever heard before. He looked around the clearing, but didn't see anyone new. "Who said that" he asked quietly.

"Use Fire Punch…" the voice repeated one more time. It appeared that no one else in the clearing heard the voice.

"Who's saying that?"

"Don't mind that now," it responded. "I will talk to you later. But for now, use Fire Punch…"

Slowly Zach got back to his feet. Boss Ariados looked a little surprised, but did well to hide it from Zach. "You wish to continue fighting? That will only hasten your death."

Zach stared at Ariados. "My death would mean nothing," he retorted as he clenched his hands into fists, "But your defeat…well…that would mean a whole lot more. FIRE PUNCH!!"

At first, Zach felt nothing happening. Boss Ariados laughed. "You fool. You realize that Chimchars cannot use Fire Pun…"

He didn't finish his statement. His grin turned to shock as suddenly Zach's fists burst into flame. Zach looked at his new fiery weapons and smiled. _That voice was right. It's just what I needed._ "You were saying."

"That's…that's…not possible," Boss Ariados stuttered.

"Well," Zach responded coolly, "I guess it is." _It's time to finish this_. He charged at Boss Ariados, fists aflame. "It's over for you! FIRE PUNCH!"

Zach's fiery right fist smashed into Boss Ariados' face, causing him to stagger backwards. He stood there for a second, looking ready to attack. However, he collapsed and was out cold. Zach had won.

Zach looked at his defeated foe, trying to catch his breath. _I've gotta act fast_, he thought realizing the poison had spread. He started feeling sick as he turned and staggered to where his friends laid tied up. They looked at him, completely shocked by what had happened. Zach could tell they had never seen anything like that before.

"Zach are you alright?" Eevee asked with concern, noticing Zach's condition.

"Me?" Zach responded, "Never better. Now hold still you two." He looked at his hands. _Please work again._ "FIRE PUNCH!" Sure enough, his hands began to flame up again. _Yes_, he thought as he slammed his hands onto Eevee and Bulbasaur's traps. The string burnt through completely and they were free. "There you go." Just as he said that he started to fall over. Eevee reacted quickly and ran over to support Zach.

"Easy does it," Eevee spoke calmly. "You'll be fine." He looked over to Bulbasaur. "Try to find a Pecha Berry." Bulbasaur nodded and ran off.

"A what?" Zach asked curiously.

"Pecha Berry. Used to cure poisoning," she told him. "We've got to get out of this clearing quickly. There's no telling when those Ariados will get up."

"Right, but don't you think we need to free Pachirisu?"

Eevee looked over to where he hung in the web. "Oh yeah. Bulbasaur will get him down when he comes back."

Bulbasaur came running back into the clearing. "You talking about me?" he asked.

"Did you find a Pecha Berry?"

"Yeah here Zach eat this." Bulbasaur placed a pink berry into his hands. Zach didn't even bother to examine it. He ate it in one bite. Almost instantly, the sick feeling that had cursed his body disappeared.

Zach smiled, bigger than any smile he had all day. "That's a lot better."

"That's good," Bulbasaur responded happily, "We better get going…" He turned to walk away, but Eevee tapped him on his bulb.

"Uh Bulbasaur…" she hinted. It took him a second to realize what she was talking about.

"Oh yeah, we better get Pachirisu down…" He walked over to where Pachirisu was tied up and prepared to release him. Eevee looked at Zach.

"Bet you never did anything like that when you were human," she said.

Zach shrugged, "Probably not." However something really bothered Zach. _Who was that voice? And how did they know I could use Fire Punch?_

End Chapter 3


	5. Chapter 4: Welcome to the Team

Chapter 4: Welcome to the Team

**Chapter 4: Welcome to the Team**

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU…"

"Really it was nothing…"

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU…"

Zach, Team Twilight, and Pachirisu were walking along a forest path. Zach was trying to reason with their hyperactive companion, but his efforts were futile. _There was no reasoning with that thing_, he thought as Pachirisu started running circles around the group. Zach attempted to try watching him, but only succeeded in making himself dizzy. As he walked along, he almost tripped over his feet.

Once he had regained equilibrium, Zach looked to Eevee and shook his head. "Is it just me or is Pachirisu a little…"

Eevee didn't need to hear the rest. "No it's not just you," she chuckled. "Pachirisu is a very hyper Pokemon. Don't worry he'll run it off." She looked over at the hyperactive squirrel and sighed. "Eventually…"

Zach looked back to the path ahead. Every once in a while, Pachirisu would enter his vision to only disappear a second later. He resisted the urge to try and watch him, knowing that he would end up making himself dizzy once again. Instead, he set his mind on another nagging matter.

_"Use Fire Punch…"_

That voice had saved his life earlier. Had he not defeated Boss Ariados at that point, he would have been…Zach shuddered. He didn't want to think about the close call he had earlier and returned to focusing on the voice. From what he could remember, it was a cool feminine voice. Yet there was something strange about it. It hadn't come through his ears, as every other sound he had heard that day had come. Instead, it seemingly came from inside of him. _But how_, he thought, _how did that voice get inside my head_. Many ideas ran through his head, each thought more ridiculous then the previous. He contemplated bringing up the subject with Bulbasaur and Eevee, but though better of it. After all, hearing voices in your head usually meant that you were going insane. The last thing Zach needed was to lose the trust of his only allies in this new world.

Zach looked over to Bulbasaur, who was chatting with Eevee. At first glance, it appeared that Bulbasaur was cheerful. Yet there was a look of annoyance hidden beneath the happy exterior. _Probably Pachirisu_, Zach thought and he couldn't blame him.

The group now walked through an opening in the trees and out of the forest. Zach stopped and looked out. The forest appeared to be located on top of a small hill. Below, the path winded ahead until it reached a small collection of buildings a fair distance away in a small depression. Tall, dense evergreen trees towered high beyond the village. He could make out a collection of mountains in the distance beyond the village, hidden by the afternoon haze.

"Well, there it is," Bulbasaur spoke from behind Zach. He walked up next to him and looked out as well. "Treasure Town. We're almost home."

They started walking down the hill. Pachirisu continued to run circles around Zach, Bulbasaur, and Eevee. It was clear that Pachirisu had finally gotten on Eevee's nerves as well. There was a mutual agreement among them that the first thing they would do is take Pachirisu home. Luckily, he didn't live too far from where they were.

The group arrived at Pachirisu's house. It looked like nothing more than a pile of branches that had fallen out the trees in a storm. They were greeted by Pachirisu's older sister, who looked almost like her brother except for being a little bit taller. Pachirisu told her how Ariados had captured him, how everything seemed lost until Eevee, Bulbasaur, and Zach appeared. His sister gasped at all the right times and when he described Zach being hit with the Poison Jab, she let out a squeal of fear, even though it was obvious Zach was okay (after all, he was standing there the whole time).

After he finished his story and went into the house, she turned to Zach and Team Twilight. "I cannot thank you enough for saving my little brother," she began. She talked a lot slower than her brother and was much easier to listen to. "He's just so careless he doesn't understand how dangerous a situation he was in. You guys are extraordinary."

Zach shrugged. "It was no big deal," he said. "I'm sure anyone else in the same situation would have done the same thing."

She shook her head. "That's not as true as you think," she replied sadly. "I have been noticing a lot more Pokemon around here not caring about those in trouble. I have to reward you three in some way." She turned to go into the house and find something.

"Really, it's no big deal," Zach said embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head. "You don't need to reward us. Right?" He turned to Bulbasaur and Eevee. Eevee nodded in agreement, but Bulbasaur hesitated for a moment then nodded as well.

"No, I insist. Hold on a second." She ran into the house and came back out with some gold coins. "Here you go. 50 Poké." She handed the money to Zach. "It isn't much, but it's at least something."

Zach looked at the money, but offered it back. "You keep it. You need it more than us."

She looked at him and then at the money and shook her head. "You bringing back my brother is more important than the money. You deserve it."

Zach finally conceded. "All right, I'm sure we could use the money. Thank you."

"Like I said it was not a problem. Just promise me you'll continue to do good."

He smiled. "I'm sure that'll be no problem."

Eevee came up behind Zach and poked him on the shoulder. "Zach, we should probably get going. It's getting late."

Zach looked up at the sky. The sun was now gradually getting lower in the western sky. There was still time before dark, but there was a good distance between them and Treasure Town. He looked back to the sister Pachirisu. "We've gotta go. Have a good evening."

Zach, Eevee, and Bulbasaur turned to leave. As they walked down the path, they could hear Pachirisu's farewells behind them.

Once they were a good distance from the Pachirisus house, Bulbasaur turned to Zach. "Modest git," he muttered jokingly.

Zach was both slightly offended and slightly amused. "Hey I was trying to be nice. We didn't need a reward for doing that."

Bulbasaur rolled his eyes. "But a reward is nice," he replied silently.

"Oh would you two not argue," Eevee sighed, stepping between the two of them. "I actually thought it was sweet what Zach did. I mean, that family has had a rough time recently and it isn't fair for us to ask for a reward from someone who is having a hard time trying to take care of her own…"

"I get it. I get it," Bulbasaur cut in, covering his ears with his vines. "Just don't give me a lecture on the whole situation. You're just like my mother was."

Zach decided to change the subject. "So what are you guys going to do about your final Rescue Squad member?" he asked. Both Bulbasaur and Eevee stopped in their tracks. Zach stopped and looked back at them. "What?"

Eevee spoke first. "Well you remember what Bulbasaur said earlier about you not joining the team…"

"Yeah but what has that got to do with…"

"Hear me out okay. Well, we talked a little bit while you were talking to Pachirisu and…"

"And what?"

Bulbasaur decided to finish it. "We would like you to be our final member."

Zach looked between Bulbasaur and Eevee. He was expecting Bulbasaur to jump up and yell "Gotcha!" in his face. Yet their faces were serious. They either are really good actors, he contemplated, or they really want me as a member. "This isn't a joke, is it?" he asked to ascertain their sincerity.

"It's okay if you don't want to…" Bulbasaur began disappointedly.

"Are you kidding? Of course I'll join."

Bulbasaur's and Eevee's faces lit up with joy. "Then it's settled," said Eevee as she approached Zach. "You are now officially a member of Team Twilight. Or you would be if I had our badges and scarves with us."

Zach looked awkwardly at Eevee. "Badges?"

"Of course. All Rescue Squads have a form of identification."

_That makes sense I guess_, Zach thought to himself. But now a new, more concerning thought came into his head. "Where am I going to stay?"

"You're staying with us at our base," Bulbasaur assured him. "Speaking of which, we'd better get going."

"Last one to the base is a rotten Exeggcute," Eevee yelled, pushing between Zach and Bulbasaur, gaining a considerable lead on them.

"HEY NO FAIR!" Bulbasaur and Zach yelled in unison after her before giving chase.

"Well here it is. Our base."

Zach looked at the structure—if you could call it one—which stood before him. From the outside, it appeared to be a large pile of rocks hastily piled one atop the other with a doorway and two small windows carved out of the side. Bulbasaur stood beside it as if it was his pride and joy. Zach was skeptical. _He's joking right? This doesn't look anything like a base_. Eevee and Bulbasaur went in through the doorway, leaving Zach outside alone.

"Come on Zach," Eevee called from inside the base. He glanced around outside one last time and walked through the doorway.

The outward appearance of the base turned out to be deceiving. He found himself in a spacious, well-lit room. Three straw beds occupied one corner of the room, two of which had personal belongings spread out beside them. A plain wood table sat in the middle of the room. A bag with its contents was sprawled out across its surface. Bulbasaur and Eevee were sorting through some of the items, throwing out the broken and useless things and putting the good things back in the bag. Zach continued to look around his new surroundings. One of the walls was lined with some wooden shelves. Some units were contained baskets with fruits, but others (Zach was surprised to see) were lined with books.

Zach walked to one of units with books. Many of them looked fairly old and worn from repeated use. He pulled one off the shelf to examine. However, he didn't notice that that particular book was supporting the shelf above. Before he could react, books came tumbling down on top of him, burying him. Bulbasaur and Eevee turned from their work to see Zach dig himself out of the pile of books. They giggled at the sight.

"Ugh…that's not funny," Zach groaned as he pulled himself out of the pile of books, trying to avoid damaging the more fragile looking ones.

Eevee and Bulbasaur walked over to the books and started putting them back onto the shelves. "Sorry about that," Eevee apologized. " I should have warned you about that."

"Yeah well, it's kinda late for that," Zach replied, picking up one of the books and opening it. Strange letters filled the pages, unlike anything he had ever seen before. "Hey Eevee, what kind of writing is this?"

She examined the text in the book and began to translate. "It's Unown writing."

"Unown writing?"

"It's an alphabet based off these Pokemon called Unown. It really isn't too hard to understand. I'll teach you it sometime." She returned to putting books back on the shelf. Zach decided to help since, well, it was kind of his fault there was a mess.

After they finished putting books on the shelves, Bulbasaur turned back to the table and picked up a few things. "This is for you Zach."

He handed Zach a dark blue scarf and a badge. The badge was half red, half white, with wings protruding from the sides. He pinned the badge to the scarf and tied the scarf around his neck. "Well," he asked the others, "how do I look?"

"You look like a monkey with scarf around your neck with a badge pinned to it," Bulbasaur shrugged. "Am I supposed to be looking for something special?"

Zach sighed. "Never mind." He took off the scarf. "Where should I put this?"

"Over there," Eevee said, pointing to the straw bed that appeared to have no one occupying it. Zach walked over and found there was a small box by the bed. He decided to put it in there so it would not become dirty.

He looked at the other beds. The one next to him was very neat and well organized. All loose items were in the box behind the bed, which itself was straight, not a single straw out of place. _This must be Eevee's bed_, he thought to himself, _and that must be Bulbasaur's_. The bed on the far side was very messy. Items were scattered all around and the box itself was battered and mostly empty.

"You hungry Zach?" a voice asked from behind him. He turned to see Bulbasaur offering him a plate of various fruits.

Zach just then realized how hungry he was. "Thanks," he said gratefully, taking the plate Bulbasaur had offered him, and started eating merrily.

Eevee chuckled as she watched Zach shovel food into his mouth. "I thought Bulbasaur was a big eater. But look at you."

Bulbasaur took that as an insult. "Oh really," he said curiously. He turned to Zach. "You. Me. Eating contest. Right here. Right now."

Zach smiled. "You're on. May the best eater win."

With that Zach and Bulbasaur started stuffing their faces with food. Eevee shook her head and sighed. _This is going to end badly_, she thought to herself. She got up to get some medicine ready. "Boys…"

Meanwhile outside the base, the sun was beginning to set slowly under the horizon of the western sky. The Kricketot and Kricktune emerged from their homes in the woods, playing their music of the night. The Volbeat and Illumise floated around the sky, providing illumination to the darkening world.

Unnoticed by these creatures was a shadow that glided across the ground at an amazing clip. It would occasionally hit in the darkness of a tree or a rock to avoid being sighted. Yet it need not have to worry. No one pays attention to the shadows at night, making it much easier to travel.

The shadow now approached what appeared to be a pile of rocks, except for the fact that there was a doorway and two windows. A soft light shown out in the approaching darkness. As it got closer, the shadow became much more cautious, knowing that he might be seen by a random glance out of the window.

Once at the window, the shadow slowly began to morph into a dark figure. It looked almost like a billowing cloak. A head emerged from inside of a red, spiked collar, a white headpiece billowing from the back of it. His ice-blue eyes looked into the room. Three figures were inside. One was walking around, seemingly telling off the other two, who were passed out on the floor.

_He's in there_, the creature thought to himself. The job had turned out to be much easier than first anticipated. It hadn't taken long for word to reach him that the target had been located. Even so, it took him a good while to finally find him, as he had been constantly moving.

He started to head towards the doorway, but remembered his Master's orders: _Do not attack. Do not kill. Just report back to me once you have found him, Darkrai_. These words were simple and to the point. Although tracking wasn't Darkrai's favorite job, he knew that this target was important. How he wished he could enter that base and finish him off now…

Darkrai sighed in disappointment. He knew that disobeying his Master would probably mean the end of him. Besides, he had been promised that he would get his fair share of the destruction when the time was right. _Master will want to hear about what I have found_. He returned to his shadow form and set off towards his Master's lair as fast as he could, no longer caring if he was seen or not.

_The search for the One is over_.

End Chapter 4


	6. Chapter 5: Confrontation

Chapter 5: Confrontation

**Chapter 5: Confrontation**

Darkness surrounded him. He looked around, desperately trying to see something, anything. But all he could see was pitch black. Strange murmurs passed through his ears before he could decipher them and an image would flash before his eyes only to dissipate into the darkness. He became frustrated by the inability to know what he was seeing and hearing. He shut his eyes, trying to concentrate, but nothing came to him.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the midst of a glowing green mist that materialized out of nowhere. The neon green light it gave off provided illumination. _What the heck is this place?_ As far as he could tell, there was nothing. Only him and the mist…

Or was he…

Suddenly a voice came from somewhere within the mist. "Zach…"

The hair on Zach's neck stood on end. This voice had been loud and clear. But there was more to it. _That voice. I know that voice._ He looked every which way possible, trying to find the source of the voice. However there was no one there.

Zach was very confused. "Hello," he called out into the darkness. "Is anyone there?" His voice seemed to echo endlessly around him. He waited for something, anything to tell him he wasn't alone. But there was no reply. So he called out again. And again. Yet no matter how many times he called out, no reply ever came.

Suddenly the mist began to dissipate into the darkness. Zach began to panic as his only source of light was now being overtaken by darkness. Desperately, he cried out, "Will someone please answer me?" He prayed for some sort of response. _Just answer please. I feel like I'm going insane._

The last speck of light appeared before his face, taunting him like a lightning bug before flickering out. Suddenly it felt like the ground had disappeared from below him. No, it didn't feel like it, it actually was gone. He was falling…falling…falling deep into the clutches of the cold, unfeeling darkness…

"Zach…"

"Who's there? Who keeps saying my name?"

"Well I wouldn't be saying your name if you would just wake up already."

_What?_ Zach opened up his eyes. He was lying on his side, facing towards the doorway. Light poured into the room through one of the windows, providing the room with illumination. The table looked empty, except for a single bowl of fruit. Zach rolled over onto his back, only to be greeted by the grinning face of Bulbasaur.

"ACK!" Zach jumped, nearly crushing his personal belongings box. "Darn it Bulbasaur. Don't do that."

"Finally you're awake," Bulbasaur ran off happily. "Hurry up and eat." An apple came flying out of nowhere, landing in Zach's lap. "We've gotta get going."

Zach looked up at Bulbasaur, confused. "Going?" he pondered as he began to eat the apple. "Where?"

"To Treasure Town of course. We never got a chance to show you it yesterday. I figure we should have enough time before we go out on our first mission today."

Zach nearly choked on a piece of apple. "A mission?"

"Of course," Bulbasaur replied cheerfully. "You think that we'd just sit around and wait for work to fall into our laps. No way. Eevee's already in Town getting our supplies ready."

_Who gave Bulbasaur caffeine this morning_, Zach wondered as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. He finished his apple quietly, thinking back over the last few hours. The previous evening, Zach and Bulbasaur had gotten into an eating competition. The only result that came from the chow fest was two Pokemon with upset stomachs. Both he and Bulbasaur passed out on the floor at the same time. They woke up to the scolding of Eevee, telling them off for being stupid and nearly eating their complete supply of food. She gave him some sort of purple liquid that tasted like oil, but it instantly made his stomach feel better. It also made Zach tired and he was just barely able to stagger to his bed before collapsing and falling asleep.

Then came the dream. Or was it a dream? Zach couldn't tell. It seemed altogether too real to be just an ordinary dream. He felt the darkness around him. The light had truly hit his retinas. And the voice. He heard that voice again, the same one from earlier that day. It began to tear at him now. _Who is that? And why are they trying to contact me?_

"Zach?"

He looked up. Bulbasaur was standing on his right, all ready to go. He had his scarf tied round his neck, his badge securely attached, and a look of eagerness spread across his face. "Come on Zach," he whined as he poked at his shoulder. "You alright man?"

Zach looked up. This wasn't the time to be worrying about a dream. His first mission was today. He grabbed his scarf from the box and tied it around his neck and smiled. "I'm okay. Let's get going."

Bulbasaur turned towards the doorway. "Okay man. Last one to Treasure Town is a…"

"Hold up," Zach cut in. "I have no idea where we're going."

"Oh yeah," Bulbasaur realized, obvious disappointment in his voice. "I should probably show you around." He walked through the doorway out of the base with Zach closely behind.

The sun had barely risen above the horizon, peaking through the trees of the nearby woods. The last stragglers of the nighttime romp were returning to their homes. In place of the Kricketot and Kricktune were Budew and other Grass Pokemon who enjoyed the sunlight. Starly and other birds stood tall in the sunlight, drying out their wings before taking flight into the morning sky.

Zach was surprised how early it was. "What time is it?" he asked curiously.

Bulbasaur thought about it for a second. "It's not too long after sunrise actually," he replied, still smiling happily.

"Does this mean we have to get up this early _every_ morning?"

"Yep. So you'd better get used to it." Bulbasaur started walking down the path. "Come on Zach. Treasure Town is just down this path." He pointed down a path that cut through some tall grass. The path winded down a hill towards the cluster of buildings below that Zach figured was Treasure Town.

The trip from the base to Treasure Town was fairly uneventful, save for a few spooks from the occasional Pokemon that would pop out of the grass. Finally, they reached town.

Bulbasaur started pointing out buildings to Zach as they walked along. "That's the Duskull Bank where we store our money," he said pointing to a shadowy building where a ghost with a skull-like mask floated around, moving bags of coins between a vault in the back and table in the front. "Oh, and that's the Electivire Link Shop where you can link moves together…"

Zach gave Bulbasaur a weird look. "Link moves?"

Bulbasaur shrugged. "It's kinda hard to explain. I would tell you to ask Electivire, but it doesn't appear that he's there today."

As they walked along, Bulbasaur explained every shop along the road. Zach noticed that all the shops looked almost exactly like their shopkeepers. The Chansey Daycare looked like Chansey; the Xatu Appraisal looked like Xatu…it just went on and on.

They arrived at the Kecleon shop where, Bulbasaur explained, you could buy things like Orbs, seeds, berries, and other things like that. The two brothers were busying themselves with preparing for the morning rush of Rescue Squads. They gave a friendly wave to Zach and Bulbasaur before turning back to their work. Past that was Kangaskhan Storage, the place, Bulbasaur said, to store all you important items.

"…And last, but certainly not least, we have the Pelipper Post Office." They now stood in front of a giant building that was shaped like a giant blue and white pelican. Every now again a Pokemon would enter the building. Some wore scarves and badges similar to what Zach and Bulbasaur had on. Others looked beat up or were shaking, barely able to hold back tears.

"So," Zach asked as he watched one particularly upset Pokemon enter the building, "what happens here?"

"Well this is where we get our missions," Bulbasaur explained. "Missions are ranked based on their difficulty. An E-ranked mission is the easiest you can get and they normally take place in small dungeons with very few floors."

"Okay yeah…"

"However an A-ranked mission is much more difficult. They would take place in giant dungeons that have many dangerous Pokemon in it."

"So are A-ranked missions the hardest you can get?"

"Not even close. You then have S-ranked missions, then you get into the stars. The hardest mission I can remember seeing was a seven-star rescue operation on Zero Isle."

_Sure is a lot to think about_, Zach thought to himself. Just then Eevee came out of the Pelipper Post Office and waved him and Bulbasaur over. They acknowledged her and ran over, dodging around a group of Pokemon huddled together looking over a sheet of paper. Zach noticed that she had a bag hung over her shoulder, the same one that had its contents spilled all over the table the night before.

"Well it took you guys long enough," Eevee said as they came up to her. "I found us a pretty simple mission to begin with."

"What rank is it?" Bulbasaur asked.

"D-ranked," she replied as she watched a sad-looking Teddiursa enter the post office. "Fairly simple mission too. Good start for us."

"Come on," Bulbasaur whined. "A D-ranked mission?"

Eevee glared at Bulbasaur. "May I remind you that we are a Normal Rank squad and we are nowhere near strong enough to enter those more difficult dungeons?"

"But we kicked three Ariados' butts yesterday."

"Correction. Zach kicked three Ariados' butts yesterday. You and I were tied up." Eevee and Bulbasaur were nearly in each other's faces when…

"Heh-heh…Fighting again are we?"

Eevee turned first. "Oh-no," she groaned in disgust. "Not you three again." Zach turned to face the newcomers

Three Pokemon stood (actually two stood, one was floating in the air) in front of them. On the left, what looked like a black hand puppet hovered off the ground. Her rainbow-colored eyes looked over at Zach for a fleeting second, before turning back onto Eevee and Bulbasaur. She looked rather disinterested in the entire situation.

On the right, a brown, almost humanlike creature stood arms crossed, smirking about the encounter. He had distinctive markings around his eyes that looked like a mask and his legs bulged outward below his hip. Topping it off was the leaf that came out from the top of his head.

In between them stood a dark bipedal creature, a greedy grin that emphasized his dagger-like teeth. A single red feather protruded from the top of his head. He had razor sharp claws on his hands and his feet that looked as though they would slice through metal with little effort. All of them wore matching blood-red scarves around their necks, similar to the ones that Team Twilight wore.

Zach walked up next to Eevee. "Who are these guys?" he asked curiously.

The Pokemon on the far right gave Zach a funny look. "What did you say?" he asked, a threatening tone hidden in voice. He formed a fist and started cracking his knuckles.

"Easy Nuzleaf," the Pokemon in the center said to his counterpart. "He isn't worth it, especially if he hangs out with losers like them."

"Sneasel, do you have to be so mean all the time?" the last Pokemon said to the Pokemon in the center. "We have our own things to worry about."

"I'm not being mean Shuppet," Sneasel replied with a lack of interest in what she said. "I'm being truthful."

"Whatever…" Shuppet sighed. "If you need me, I'll be getting our stuff." With that, she floated off towards Kangaskhan Storage.

Sneasel shook his head. "Why did we even let her join?" he muttered to himself. Then he looked back over to Zach. "Back to you now. Why are you on a team with these losers? Seriously." He smiled. "Now if you were on a team like Team DarkBlade, you'd be pretty cool…"

Zach gave Sneasel an awkward glance. "Team DarkBlade?"

"Yeah," Nuzleaf added. "Our team, Team DarkBlade is the coolest, most awesome, kick-butt Rescue Squad in all of Treasure Town."

Bulbasaur shook his head. "Yeah right," he muttered, hoping that no one would hear.

However, Nuzleaf did hear him. "What did you say punk?" he yelled, giving Bulbasaur a threatening glance. Bulbasaur nearly fell over backwards out of fear. Nuzleaf was about to charge when Sneasel grabbed him on his shoulder.

"Don't waste your time on that wimp," he sneered. "He's useless…"

Before Zach could react, he found himself knocked to the ground. When he got back to his feet, he saw Bulbasaur and Sneasel roll around on the ground, slashing and punching at each other. It took the combined strength of Zach and Eevee to drag Bulbasaur out of the fray. Nuzleaf held back Sneasel.

"Don't…call…me…useless…" Bulbasaur huffed as he tried to fight out of the grasp of Zach and Eevee.

Sneasel shook his head. "Come on Nuzleaf," he spoke coldly, turning his back to leave. "Let's get together with Shuppet and leave as soon as possible." With that, Sneasel and Nuzleaf left.

Once they were a good distance away, Zach and Eevee let go of Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur was not impressed. "Why'd you do that?" he growled at them angrily. "I was doing fine."

"You were being an idiot," Eevee replied. "So what if he calls you useless. That just proves how pathetic and low he is."

Zach could sense another argument was about to begin. He decided to try and change the topic, hoping to evade another situation. "So," he began nervously, "what's our mission anyways?"

For a moment, they stared at Zach as if they didn't recognize him. Then what he said registered in both their minds. "Oh yeah," Eevee replied, remembering the mission. She reached into the bag and pulled out a sheet of paper. "You can read it yourself."

Zach took the paper and held it out so Bulbasaur could read as well. They looked over the sheet carefully. Upon reading over the mission, they looked at each other and nodded. Zach handed the sheet back to Eevee. "Alright then," he said calmly. "Let's get going."

Bulbasaur and Eevee nodded in agreement. With that, they set off along the path that led out of town. Their first mission had officially begun.

End Chapter 5


	7. Chapter 6: The Way It Starts

Chapter 6: The Way It Starts

**Chapter 6: The Way It Starts**

"Drenched Bluff is sure living up to its name."

"You aren't kidding."

Team Twilight was fighting their way through a heavy downpour as they approached the dungeon where their first mission was to take place. The path they were taking was along the sea. They had very little shelter from the elements as they walked along. In the distance, one could hear the sea's waves crashing on the rocks on the shoreline. A gust of wind brought about a blinding spray of rain that further obscured the group's visibility.

Zach was not very happy about the weather. For some reason, the rain seemed to be effecting him, or at least more than Bulbasaur and Eevee. "Are we almost there?" he asked, raising his voice to be heard between the gusts and waves.

"It's just up ahead," Eevee reassured Zach. Sure enough, a rocky outcropping rose in front of them, rising up in front of them and from the sea beyond. A large fissure ran down the middle of the bluff, culminating in the creation of an entrance near the base of the bluff. Tall pillars of rock towered on either side of the path towards the entrance. The pillars cut down on the gusts that had battered the group the whole trip. The rain began to subside as well.

"Thank goodness it stopped raining," Zach smiled. "I don't know why, but it made me feel somewhat dragged down."

"You aren't kidding," Eevee agreed. "I'm soaked to the bone."

"I don't know," said Bulbasaur. "I thought that it was quite refreshing."

Zach and Eevee gave Bulbasaur strange looks. _How could he find that enjoyable_, Zach wondered. He decided not to say anything else about the weather. Instead, he turned his focus back to the geographic feature they were approaching.

"So this is the entrance to the dungeon?" asked Zach, as Team Twilight approached the bluff. He was still unfamiliar with the whole concept of mystery dungeons.

"Yep," replied Bulbasaur. "The dungeon here has seven floors. Small dungeon really."

Seven floors didn't sound all that small to Zach, but he decided to keep that thought to himself. Rather, he turned to Eevee. "Could I see the sheet again?"

Eevee nodded and reached into her bag. It didn't take long for her to produce a now rather crumpled-up sheet of paper. "Sorry about that," she apologized sheepishly. "It got smashed below some of the items."

This didn't bother Zach. He flattened the sheet of paper and read over their mission again:

Please help! My big brother went missing when we were exploring.  
I'm too scared to look by myself. Please save him!  
Client: Ralts  
Objective: Rescue Ralts' brother  
Location: Drenched Bluff B7F  
Difficulty: D  
Reward: ??

Zach handed the sheet back to Eevee, who stuffed it back into her bag. "So we need to get to the bottom floor and look for our missing explorer," he confirmed with the others, making sure he was thinking right.

Both Eevee and Bulbasaur nodded. "Yep," Bulbasaur replied. "It's time we got searching."

Zach and Bulbasaur started walking towards the entrance of the cave only to be yanked back by their scarves. Both of them fell on their backs and found themselves staring up at Eevee.

"Yow, what was that for?" Bulbasaur snapped as he and Zach got back to their feet.

Eevee sighed. "Before we go in there, I have a some thing to give you guys." She took the bag off her shoulder and sat it on the ground in front of her so she could look inside.

"It's not by birthday," Bulbasaur chuckled as he watched Eevee rummage through the bag. She didn't appear to have heard him. Bulbasaur turned to Zach. "What do you think she's looking for anyway?"

Zach shrugged. _He expects me to know_, he wondered. _What_ is _she looking for?_

"Here we go," Eevee said at last. She pulled out a scarf. It was white with brown polka dots. She gave it to Bulbasaur. "This is for you."

Bulbasaur took it. "So what am I supposed to do?" he asked, a confused look on his face.

"You put it on under your team scarf," Eevee replied as she resumed searching through her bag. "That's a Defense Scarf. You put it on and it raises your defensive stats."

"Okay then," said Bulbasaur. He took off his team scarf and put on the Defense Scarf. Then he replaced his team scarf on top. "Man, this is gonna be hot in there," he muttered under his breath.

"And this is for you Zach." Eevee handed him a scarf. It looked different from Bulbasaur's. His was jade green with a small pattern sewn in the middle.

Zach looked over it curiously. "What's this?"

"It's a Power Band," said Eevee. "You put it on and it raises your attack power."

Zach had no clue what the heck Eevee was talking about, but if it would help him be more powerful, then he might as well put it on. As he tied it on around his neck, he felt a sudden surge of power through his body. _Whoa, it really does work_.

Eevee pulled out one last scarf. It was pure white with a blue thread lining. "And this is my own Twist Band. It prevents my attack and special attack stats from being lowered." She tied it around her neck carefully. "Now we are set to go."

With that, Eevee walked past Zach and Bulbasaur through the fissure that lead into the dungeon. Bulbasaur followed close behind. Zach hesitated for a moment, looking around outside. The clouds were threatening to start raining again. _Well, this is it. My first mission_. He turned and walked through the fissure.

The dungeon was fairly bright inside, which was odd considering the fact that they were underground. Water dripped down the walls of the cave and formed fairly large pools of water on the floor.

He quickly caught up with Eevee and Bulbasaur. "So this is a dungeon…"

"Yeah," Bulbasaur replied. "Kinda creepy isn't it." Zach noticed that Bulbasaur seemed a little nervous.

"Come on," said Eevee. "We need to stick together and work our way down. And watch out for wild Pokemon. They'll attack if we are not careful."

Eevee took the lead of the group, Zach and Bulbasaur following close behind. The first two floors of the dungeon were fairly uneventful. Even Zach was beginning to believe that this would be easy.

As they walked along, Eevee would stop and pick something up off the ground. She explained that the Pokemon who lived in the cave would sometimes leave the cave and bring back things from the outside. She talked about Max Elixirs and Reviver Seeds until Zach thought that his head would explode.

"Uh, no offense, Eevee," Zach cut in as the group now reached the third floor. "Could you give it a break? I'll figure it out myself."

Eevee shrugged. "Alright, I was trying to be helpful," she said with a hint of disappointment. They continued to walk along the third floor in total silence, until Bulbasaur decided to bring something up.

"Zach, you said that you remember being a human," he began. "Can you remember any reason why you ended up in the forest?"

This hadn't occurred to Zach. _How did I end up there anyway?_ He tried to think of any reason why this might have been, but ended up shaking his head in disappointment. "No, I can't," he replied. "I don't remember anything before that."

"Oh," said Bulbasaur, also unable to hide his disappointment. "I was just wondering…"

_Whoosh_. Zach stopped where he was standing. _What was that?_ He prepared himself for a fight. Eevee and Bulbasaur noticed Zach and stopped as well.

Eevee was slightly confused. "Zach, what--"

Zach put a finger to his lips. "Quiet," he whispered. "I thought I heard something."

Bulbasaur looked over at Zach. "I can't hear--"

Zach put his hand over Bulbasaur's mouth. He couldn't concentrate with him talking. _There's something here_, he thought. _But what?_ He turned to his left…

"LOOK OUT!"

Zach dove towards the others and pushed them to the ground. Quickly, he was back on his feet looking around. _Where did it go?_

Eevee got back to her feet, staring at him angrily. "What the heck was that…"

But before she could finish, a large, rocky flower staggered out of the darkness. Two glowing green eyes stared out of the dark abyss that was the center of its flower head. Something about it made seemed ancient.

Zach backed up a little. "What is that thing?" he asked, hoping that someone knew what it was.

"I think it's a Lileep," Eevee replied. "I thought they were extinct."

"Obviously, this one didn't get the message," said Bulbasaur, a hint of angst evident in his voice.

Suddenly, a second Lileep appeared from behind the group. It staggered toward them slowly. Zach wondered how they could walk, but figured that it wasn't important how they were walking. What was important was that they were walking toward them and they didn't seem particularly happy about them being in the dungeon.

Zach glanced at the others. Eevee was now facing the new arrival, sternly standing her ground. Bulbasaur, on the other hand, was looking between the two Lileep, undecided on what to do.

Finally, one of the Lileep spoke. "Leave this place," it rasped angrily. Its sounded as old as it looked. For a second, Bulbasaur tried to push past Zach, but Zach grabbed him and held him back. Eevee stepped forward.

"We are not leaving here until we complete our mission," Eevee replied confidently. "So unless you want to fight…"

Almost as if on cue, the two Lileep suddenly charged at them. Zach was prepared for the one charging toward him. "Why did she have to bring up fighting?" he contemplated under his breath. "EMBER!"

Small balls of flame shot out of Zach mouth at the charging Lileep. There was no doubt that his attack had done some damage. Almost on contact, Lileep let out a cry of pain before collapsing to the cave floor. _That's one_, Zach thought to himself. He turned to see how Eevee and Bulbasaur were handling the other Lileep.

Bulbasaur was in a little bit of trouble. He was about to attack when Lileep suddenly Astonished him, causing him to flinch. Eevee was there to back him up.

"TACKLE!" Eevee charged toward the Lileep and smashed into it with authority. Lileep went flying across the room before crashing into the wall. As it stood back upright, Bulbasaur stepped forward, prepared to fight.

"It's my turn," he said as he tried to position himself best for his move. "VINE WHIP!"

Two vines shot from Bulbasaur's bulb and lashed sharply across Lileep's body. Though it really didn't have a face, Zach could tell that Lileep was wincing in pain after that attack. For a moment, it stood there, preparing to attack once more. However, it fell with a thud into a heap on the ground, having taken too much damage.

Zach let out a sigh relief. "You guys okay?" he asked with obvious concern. "Neither of you are hurt, right?"

Bulbasaur chuckled. "Zach, relax. We're fine." He looked over his body. "See, not a scratch on me. That Defense Scarf protect me from most damage."

Zach let out a sigh of relief. He thought for a minute there that it would turn into another Ariados incident. He looked over to Eevee. She hadn't even taken a hit.

He now turned his attention to the dungeon. There were no signs of any other Pokemon, except for the ones they had knocked out of course. Still, Zach couldn't help but sense that something wasn't right. _Why does it seem like something bad is gonna happen?_

"Zach, what's wrong?"

A voice brought back to reality. Bulbasaur walked up beside him. "Are you okay?" he asked. "You're just staring off at nothing."

Zach didn't even realize that he was staring out at nothing. He let out a sigh. "Yeah I'm fine," he said. "I was just…thinking about something."

"Oh, alright," said Bulbasaur. "You seemed…"

"Are you two gonna sit there and talk, or are we going to get moving?" Eevee interrupted. "We've gotta get back to searching for Ralts."

_That's right_, Zach remembered. _We do have to find Ralts_. He and Bulbasaur walked over to where Eevee stood. "So any idea where the stairway to the next floor is?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's right over there." She pointed to a spot nearby where one of the fallen Lileep laid motionless. Sure enough, there was a stairway that led down to the next floor below.

_No way it was right there_, Zach thought. He shook his head. "How…?"

"Remember, Zach," said Bulbasaur, "Mystery Dungeons are weird places."

Eevee went down the stairway first, followed closely behind by Bulbasaur. Zach looked around the floor one last time. Suddenly, he heard groans from the nearby Lileep. Without a second thought, Zach hightailed it down the stairway, hurrying to catch up with Bulbasaur and Eevee.

End Chapter 6


	8. Chapter 7: Strange Feelings

Chapter 7: Strange Feelings

**Chapter 7: Strange Feelings**

"Are we there yet?"

"No, this is floor five."

Bulbasaur groaned. "We still have two more floors to go?"

Eevee sighed. "If you continue to complain, you're only going to make it seem that much longer."

Bulbasaur looked as though he wanted to reply, but he kept quiet. Zach shook his head. _And he was the one who said that this was a small dungeon_. Truth be told, Zach too was beginning to wonder when they were going to reach the end of this labyrinth. They had walked down many hallways only to find themselves in a room that led to two or three more hallways. A number of times they would take one of the hallways, only to find themselves back in the same room they started in.

After the encounter with the Lileep, they had not seen another wild Pokemon. This probably shouldn't have worried him, but, for some inexplicable reason, it did. It only seemed to build on that sense of foreboding he felt after the earlier fight.

It wasn't long before they found the staircase and descended down to sixth basement floor. The humidity had risen to near unbearable levels. It was like trying to walk through water. They chose a corridor and started walking down it toward what they hoped was the staircase to the final floor.

Zach pulled his scarves away from his neck, providing only minimal relief from the mugginess of the floor. Eevee didn't look particularly happy either, panting heavily as the group walked along. Her heavy fur coat was a burden in such an environment. But just like outside in the rain earlier, Bulbasaur seemed to not take any notice to the conditions. Zach thought about saying something, but decided that it would just be pointless to ask.

Team Twilight entered a large, empty room. It was quickly evident that this room was just another dead-end. Just as they were about to leave though…

"H-help…"

Everyone stopped in their tracks. No one spoke at first. Then Eevee whispered something in Bulbasaur's ear, gesturing toward one corner of the room. Bulbasaur nodded and walked slowly toward the corner.

Eevee came over to Zach. "Zach, check the corner over there," she whispered, motioning toward a corner on the opposite side of the room. "Let us know if you find someone."

"Do you think it might be Ralts?" Zach asked hopefully. _If it is, then we can finally get out of this place_.

"I don't know," Eevee replied, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "It could be, but I really can't say for sure."

Zach had picked up on the doubt in her voice and began to wonder himself. _If it isn't Ralts_, he thought as he walked over towards his assigned corner, _then what could it be?_

He reached his end of the room and began looking around. Small puddles of water littered the floor. A few large boulders stood firm on the floor. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. Until…

"H-h-help…"

Zach jumped. It had come from behind one of the boulders. He looked around the room. _Which boulder could it have come from?_ He walked over to the one closest to him.

Sure enough, someone was there. A gray-and-white bird lay against the boulder, breathing heavily and in obvious pain. It didn't take long for Zach to find the problem; his right wing was bent awkwardly. A cut ran across the bird's face, a small amount of blood dripping from the wound. It was clear that someone had attacked this bird. But who, or what, was a mystery.

Zach sat down next to the bird. "What happened to you?" he asked. "Who did this to you?"

"I…don't know," the bird said. "The last thing I remember was getting slammed to the ground and I blacked out." He tried to stand up, but Zach put a hand out stopped him.

"Be careful," Zach warned. "Your wing is already screwed up. The last thing you need to do is make things worse." He looked across the room and spotted Eevee. "Eevee, get Bulbasaur and get over here," he called out to her. "I found somebody." She nodded in response to him and went off to get their third party member.

Zach turned back to the hurt bird. He set about examining the broken wing. At the very moment he touched the feathers, he started feeling strange. Dizziness overpowered him, causing him to stagger backward. He looked back over at the bird. His vision began going in and out of focus. He had to shut his eyes to prevent himself from being sick.

Suddenly, a tall, shadowy figure appeared before his eyes. The figure stood over another, much smaller figure that was lying flat on the ground. The smaller figure was a bird, the exact bird that was sitting in front of Zach. He appeared to spread out wings and try to stand. In one swift motion, the larger figure stomped down on the right wing. The bird let out a cry of pain. The cry came to a crescendo as a sharp ringing sound so loud that it hurt Zach's ears. He couldn't stand it…

He opened his eyes with a start. _What just happened?_ Many thoughts raced through his head as he tried to figure out what he saw. He looked down at the bird. He was giving Zach a strange look. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "I don't know…"

"Zach!"

Eevee and Bulbasaur came running over to Zach and the bird. Bulbasaur went over to the victim. "So, you're a Starly, right?" he asked the bird, trying to be upbeat to encourage him.

Starly nodded. "I was attacked out of nowhere when I was exploring. I'm so glad someone got my message and came to rescue me."

Sweat drops rolled down the back of everyone's heads. "Uh…did you say message?" Eevee asked, trying to hit the surprise in her voice.

"Yep. I sent out an SOS hoping for a some rescue squad to come find me and, wouldn't you know it, here you are."

"Well, about that…" Bulbasaur chuckled nervously. "You see…uh, how should I put this…?"

Zach spoke up. "We never got your message, Starly," he said, trying to be straight to the point. "We found you while we were searching for another missing Pokemon."

"Oh…" Starly said, slightly disappointed by what he just heard. "I'm…sorry to have taken you away from your mission. I'll just sit here and wait for my own rescue party to find me."

"No you're not," Zach assured him. "You are coming with us."

"Are you sure? Really, I can come with you guys?" he asked excitedly.

"Of course," Eevee replied. "We certainly can't leave you here." She went over and examined Starly's injuries. "Wow, that's a pretty nasty break. Let me see what I can do about that." She started rummaging through her bag once again, searching for some supplies.

Meanwhile, Bulbasaur came over to Zach. "You okay?" he asked, with some definite concern. "You're acting kinda strange."

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said untruthfully, watching Eevee pull out item after item out of the bag. All these weird things that had been happening to him: the voice, the dream, and now, a strange vision. _I can't tell him about what I just saw_, he concluded. He couldn't help but worry that if he did tell the truth, Bulbasaur wouldn't believe him. _No, at least not now_.

After finding what she was looking for, it didn't take long for Eevee to fix up Starly. She had created an ingenious sling to support the broken wing using a stick she had picked up along the way and her own team scarf. "You do know that I'll need that scarf back when we get back to Treasure Town," she told the bird after helping him back to his feet.

"No problem," he said. "Hopefully, Chansey will have a more permanent fix."

Now that Starly was up and going again, it was time to search for the stairs to the next floor where (hopefully) they would finally find Ralts. Eevee walked out in front followed closely behind by Bulbasaur. Zach hung back with Starly, making sure that nothing snuck up on him as they were walking along.

After a long and tedious search, they found the stairway to the final floor. Unlike all the other stairways in the dungeon, this one was very narrow. One-by-one, the party went down. Zach went last, making sure that they weren't being followed. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he went down after them.

A rush of cool air welcomed Zach as he descended the stairway. "What the…?" His voice cut out as he came out onto the final floor.

Everything about the floor was different from all the other floors they had been on. It was all one large room rather than the series of rooms and hallways they were accustomed to. At the center, a large rock formation stood, water gushing out of the top of it like a fountain. Small streams rolled down the formation into pools at the base. Large amounts of vegetation covered the floor,

Everyone had stopped to look around. "Quite a strange place, isn't it?" said Bulbasaur as he examined some of the local greenery. "It's not even humid here."

"Definitely wasn't expecting this," said Eevee. "I wonder why only this floor is like this."

_That's true_, Zach thought to himself. _How could only one floor be like this?_ He shook his head. "It really doesn't matter," he said. "We need to find…"

Suddenly, a small creature tumbled out of a nearby bush. It looked like a small child in an off-white dress. Its green bowl-shaped headpiece obscured most of its face. It got back to its feet and looked around, spotting Team Twilight. Before anyone could say anything, it came running over toward them, tripping and falling right in front of Zach.

"It's Ralts!" Bulbasaur exclaimed excitedly. "We found him."

Ralts looked up at Bulbasaur. "Y-you're here to rescue me?" he stuttered. He seemed very nervous for some reason. "Th-thank you. B-b-but we've gotta get out of here."

Eevee was shocked. "Get out of here? Why?" she asked. "This place is incredible."

"Here, let me help you out," said Zach, offering out his hand to help Ralts up. Ralts looked at his hand for a moment then, deciding he was really being helpful, took it.

Suddenly, a familiar sensation overcame Zach. Dizziness and nausea overpowered his senses. He was forced to shut his eyes…

Before him, two identical looking creatures stood in almost the exact same spot that Team Twilight was currently standing. One of them, the larger of the two, he recognized as the Ralts who he just helped out. _And that must be his sister_, he thought solemnly, looking at the smaller one. The two of them were looking around the room with similar looks of amazement that had crossed the team's faces when they entered the room.

Suddenly, something came bursting out of one of the nearby ponds. Zach found himself turning to see what was happening with both Ralts. A large creature, obscured in shadow, stood before them, baring large claws at them. The younger of the two freaked out and ran, leaving her brother behind alone. _Come on, move_, he thought to himself, trying to encourage Ralts to get out of there. But inside, he realized he wasn't going to move: he was paralyzed with fear.

A sharp, ringing sound rattled his eardrums once again, bringing him out of the vision and back into reality. He opened his eyes and looked around. His team seemed to not have noticed what just happened to him. Only Ralts seemed to notice, as he looked up at him very intently.

The odd sense of foreboding that had cursed him since the Lileep attack once again reared up. _Something's here_, he thought to himself, _something that's attacking Pokémon_.

He turned back to the group. "We have to get out of here," he said firmly. "There's something here."

Bulbasaur shook his head and smiled. "First Ralts and now you, Zach?" he said grinning. "Come on, we don't need negativity here."

"I'm serious. I just got a really bad feeling about this place."

"Right and I'm a trainer. Really, there's nothing…"

Just then, a loud crash interrupted Bulbasaur's reasoning. Everyone looked across the room. A large fissure had formed in the fountain, cutting almost directly down the middle. Zach walked a little closer, wondering what caused the crack.

Suddenly, the fountain burst into tons of small rocks. Zach covered his face to protect himself from flying debris. When he brought down his hands, he was taken aback by who he was staring at.

_Oh crap..._

End Chapter 7


	9. Chapter 8: Taking Care of Business

Chapter 8:

**Chapter 8: Taking Care of Business**

_Oh crap…_

Zach looked over toward the spot where the fountain once stood. Water still gurgled up from the ground below, though not in the same impressive manner as before. The creature simply walked through the water as if it weren't even there. He was large, or at least large when compared to Zach. His body was covered in a hard exoskeleton of brown rock. He walked on two legs, and his two arm-like appendages ended like scythes. His blood-red eyes were focused on one thing only: Zach.

"Why…" he rasped in a gravelly voice. "Why have you trespassed here?"

"T-t-trespassed?" stuttered Zach as he slowly backed up to where the rest of the team stood. He could see that everyone else was nervous, so he attempted to regain his own composure. "Who are you?"

"I am Kabutops," the creature answered, stomping toward his prey. "You have trespassed upon the lands of my ancestors. All the Pokemon here have descended from the original ancient Pokemon."

"Ancient Pokemon?"

"Correct. Ever since the dawn of time, this place has belonged to my ancestors. We do not appreciate intruders."

Kabutops looked at his blade, then at Team Twilight. A sinister smile came across his mouth. With the skill and precision of a swordsmaster, he swung his arms at a nearby boulder, slicing it cleanly in half.

Everyone stood there wide-eyed at this display of deadly weaponry. "Dang…" Bulbasaur said in amazement, sharing the sentiment of the entire group.

"And now you will be punished for you trespassing." With little warning, he charged toward the group, brandishing his scythes. Everyone turned to run away. Zach tried to run, but for some reason, he couldn't move. His legs felt like they were filled with cement.

Eevee noticed Zach's state. "Zach, you've got to move!" she yelled at him, trying to snap him out of whatever state was holding him down. But no matter how much Zach told his legs to move, they wouldn't respond. He could only stare at the incoming attacker and brace for the inevitable attack. He shut his eyes.

Kabutops brought the blunt side of his blade down hard onto Zach's head. His knees began to buckle under the strength of the attack. It felt as though his head was going to split in half. Finally, his legs gave out under him, sending Zach crashing face-first into the floor.

Eevee and Bulbasaur watched in terror as their teammate was taken down. They needed to help. Eevee turned to Ralts and Starly. "You two better hide," she warned them as she took the treasure bag off her shoulder, placing it on the ground. "This could get ugly." Both Pokemon took heed of her words and took cover in the nearby underbrush.

Meanwhile, Zach was struggling to get back to his feet. His head was absolutely killing him and a small amount of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth down to his chin. He looked to see Kabutops observing him, perhaps slightly bemused by the fact he had taken the hit. Zach wiped the blood off his chin.

"Well, you are certainly a tough one," Kabutops complimented. "Most of my foes can't even take one hit." His eyes narrowed. "But this ends now."

Kabutops engulfed himself in a twisting torrent of water. _Okay, this is bad_. A dangerous glint came across Kabutops' red eyes. Suddenly, he shot toward Zach like a bullet, making it almost impossible for him to dodge. "This is really bad." He braced for the inevitable impact.

Just then, at the last possible moment, Eevee hurtled Zach and slammed into Kabutops. Unfortunately for her, Kabutops was much stronger and she ended up taking the brunt of the damage. She was knocked back to the ground, but quickly got back to her feet, ready to continue the fight.

Kabutops looked over toward Eevee, extremely dissatisfied with this interference. He charged toward her, scythes drawn to strike. He was moving so fast that Eevee could only try to find a way to avoid being struck by his attack.

"No, you don't!"

Bulbasaur stepped forward in front of Zach. Two vines whipped out from the bulb on his back, wrapping around Kabutops' blades. "Gotcha," he said, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Good job, Bulbasaur," said Zach, impressed with Bulbasaur's alertness. Without the scythes to deal with, they could attack

"Thanks Za…ack!"

Kabutops yanked on the vines that were binding his blades together. He began spinning around in places, whipping Bulbasaur faster and faster as he picked up velocity.

"I'M…GONNA…BE…SICK…!" Bulbasaur shouted as he past Zach on each rotation. Zach could only watch helplessly as his friend was spun around like he was on a carnival ride from hell.

After five or so spins, Kabutops freed himself from the vines that were binding his blades together. Bulbasaur was thrown into a surprised Zach, sending the two of them sliding across the dungeon floor. They skid to a halt next to the treasure bag.

Kabutops stalked toward where the two Pokemon lay, ready to finish the job. But then, he felt something hit him in the back of his head. "Who threw that?" he demanded angrily. He turned around to find Eevee standing with a small pile of pebbles. She threw another one at Kabutops. He deflected it with one of his scythes. "Why you…" Deciding not to take advantage of Zach and Bulbasaur, he once again turned his focus on Eevee.

"Oh man…" groaned Bulbasaur, still trying to recover from his dizziness.

"Uh…Bulbasaur?"

"Yeah, Zach?"

"Would it be possible if you could perhaps…I don't know…GET OFF MY BACK!?"

Bulbasaur hadn't even noticed that he was lying on top of Zach. "Right," he said somewhat embarrassed. He quickly got back to his feet, though he was far from steady. Zach followed suit in a much smoother manner.

Meanwhile, Eevee was trying her best to avoid being sliced by Kabutops' scythes. She noticed that Zach and Bulbasaur were back on their feet. "Guys, I could use a little help over here!" she yelled. Kabutops took another swipe at her, but she was just barely able to dodge the incoming attack. "Hurry!"

Bulbasaur regained his equilibrium. "Right then, Razor Leaf!" From beneath his bulb, a large number of leaves were shot out like ninja stars at Kabutops. They were shot out so fast that Zach was sure that there was no way Kabutops could dodge the attack.

But in one swift motion, Kabutops deftly jumped high in the air, easily avoiding the attack. His dodge left Eevee wide open to Bulbasaur's attack. A sweat drop rolled down the back of Zach's head. "Aw man…"

"Owowow!" cried Eevee as she took Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf directly. The sharp leaves left visible marks in her fur, but they didn't cut into her. "What are you aiming at?" she yelled at Bulbasaur angrily.

"Sorry…" Bulbasaur responded sheepishly. "I guess I was a little off."

Normally, Zach might have chuckled at this situation. But a more urgent thought took precedent in his mind. _Where's Kabutops?_ He looked around the dungeon floor. He had seen him jump into the air, but never recalled seeing him land. _Where could he have gone?_ His eyes turned toward the ceiling…

"BULBASAUR, LOOK OUT!"

Kabutops was coming straight down from above Bulbasaur, scythes bared for attack. Bulbasaur still had no clue where the attack was coming from. Zach had to act fast to protect his friend. He charged toward Bulbasaur, concentrating his energy into his right fist. _Come on, work_. Sure enough, Zach's fist became engulfed in flames. _Yes! Now…_ He leaped to intercept Kabutops. The collision of fist and scythe was powerful and caused both combatants to recoil.

However, it was clear which of them was in worse shape from the conflict thus far. Zach's head was still in immense pain and he felt drained. Kabutops, on the other hand, looked as if he hadn't even taken an attack.

"Humph, pathetic," Kabutops scoffed at Zach. "Trying to defeat me with Fire-type moves? That is truly sad." Just like earlier, Kabutops summoned another twisting torrent of water, engulfing himself within. Like a bullet fired from a rifle, Kabutops shot toward Zach at high velocity. The combination of his speed and close proximity to Zach made the attack impossible to avoid. Zach could only brace for impact.

Nothing could have prepared him for what happened next. Kabutops smashed head-on into Zach's sternum. This time, the pain was different. Before, the pain had been limited to his head. Now, however, his entire body was in agony. His arms and legs almost instantly fell limp as he crashed to the ground. With nothing to stop him, his body slid across the floor until momentum took it no farther. His vision went in and out of focus as he tried to stand. But the pain became too much and he collapsed, unable to continue the fight.

Eevee and Bulbasaur let out cries of shock. "Zach!" They tried to run over to where their friend lay, but Kabutops beat them there.

"Now," Kabutops boomed triumphantly, "to finish this once and for all!" The fossil Pokemon stood tall over Zach, like a predator who had finally caught an evasive prey. Zach opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of Kabutops' blade as he raised it above his neck. He gave the appearance of an executioner poised to finish off a prisoner. He brought the blade down…

"NO!"

Suddenly, a large black orb smashed into Kabutops. He let out a groan of pain as the surprise attack sent him tumbling into a nearby pool of water. _What the heck?_ Zach sat up. Nearby, Eevee stood, charging up another large pulsating black orb. Once it was nearly the size of her head, she launched it at Kabutops, who was just getting back to his feet.

This time, though, Kabutops would not be caught by surprise. He countered the orb with a torrent of water, which he shot from his mouth. "Hmm…so you can use Shadow Ball?" Kabutops inquired, slightly surprised. "I certainly wasn't suspecting this." He drew his blades in front of him and charged toward her. Eevee stood her ground, ready to fight.

Zach somehow pulled himself to his feet, despite the tremendous pain he felt. He caught sight of Kabutops charging toward Eevee. "Stay away from her!" he shouted. Even though he was a Fire-type, the flame in his body burnt to near unbearable levels. "EMBER!"

He had only planned on using Ember to slow down Kabutops. However, instead of the small balls of flames that he had used to take out the Lileep earlier, a large stream of fire from his mouth at Kabutops, engulfing the predator and halting his attack.

Kabutops fell to one knee as the flames receded, gasping for air. "H-how…?" he choked, coughing up small puffs of smoke. He looked to where the flames had come from. "You! You're…"

"One really peeved Chimchar," Zach finished, feeling his rage rising to near epic levels. His tail flame was nearly as big as he was, and the flame within his body was burning white-hot. The blood that continued to drip from his mouth gave him a very intimidating presence.

Kabutops had overcome his shock of seeing Zach and charged toward him. Zach glanced over at Eevee and Bulbasaur. Apparently, they had the same idea that he did. Already Eevee was charging up another one of her Shadow Balls and Bulbasaur was carefully taking aim. _It's now or never_. Zach took a deep breath. "Let's go team," Zach ordered. "Full-power attacks!"

Eevee unleashed her Shadow Ball so that it would intercept Kabutops. Bulbasaur followed suit and fired many razor-sharp leaves at Kabutops as well. Zach exhaled another large stream of flames, completing the trifecta. The attacks converged on Kabutops, causing a tremendous explosion. Smoke filled the floor, sending everyone into fits of coughing.

The smoke finally began to clear, yet all three members of Team Twilight remained silent, staring intently to where they had launched their attacks. The smoke finally dissipated into the air and there, laid spread-eagle on the ground, was Kabutops. Slowly, Team Twilight approached him.

"Is he…you know?" Zach asked, breaking the silence at last.

"No, he's not dead," Bulbasaur responded, "just knocked out." He looked across the room. Starly and Ralts were now crawling out of their hiding places. "I think we'd better be going, before he regains consciousness."

Zach nodded in agreement. Team Twilight walked to where Starly and Ralts stood waiting for them. Zach reached them first and picked up the Treasure Bag. As he lifted it onto his shoulder, two Oran Berries rolled out of the bag onto the ground. He reached down and picked them up. Looking over to Eevee to see if it was okay, he ate one himself, feeling the energy surge through his body. His aches began to dull down, though they still didn't go away completely.

He started to put the second one back when he heard a groan from across the room. Kabutops was trying to pull himself to his feet. However, it was obvious he was in too much pain to do so.

Zach looked down at the Oran Berry in his hands, and then he threw it toward where Kabutops was laying. Kabutops looked intently between Zach and the Oran Berry. "Go ahead, eat it," Zach said contently. "It'll make you feel better." Zach walked toward the exit, past the looks of shock on the faces of his teammates. "Come on, let's go."

Eevee and Bulbasaur looked at each other and nodded. One-by-one, Team Twilight and their wards went up the staircase, toward the promise of warmth. Zach was the last to leave, taking one last glance toward Kabutops, who continued to stare at the Oran Berry with great interest. Finally, with a sigh, he turned and ascended the staircase.

* * *

Team Twilight was standing in the center of Treasure Town, two almost identical Ralts standing in front of them. They had hiked back from Drenched Bluff, through another rain shower, and finally arrived back in Treasure Town. Shortly after arriving, Starly left to see Chansey about his hurt wing. He promised to reward them as soon as his wing was healed.

It didn't take long to reunite Ralts with his sister either; she was waiting nearby Kecleon Market when they arrived. After some hugging and a few tears the two turned back to Team Twilight.

"Thank you so much, Team Twilight," the younger sister said. "Thank you for saving my brother."

"It was nothing," Eevee said happily. "We're just glad to see you guys together again."

The younger Ralts reached into her own bag and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in a brownish paper. "This is the reward for saving me," she said happily, handing it to Zach. "It's just a few things that I found in our storage area."

Zach opened the package. Contained in the paper were a few seeds and a strange disc. "Uh…thanks," he said, looking over the contents with some confusion. He wasn't used to being rewarded with things like seeds and discs. "You're too kind."

"It was the least we could do to thank you," the older brother said. He turned to his sister. "Come on, let's go home." She nodded and, after one more thank you, walked toward the outskirts of town.

As soon as they were a good distance away, Bulbasaur walked up right next to Zach. "So…what did they give us?" he asked curiously. Eevee rolled her eyes as she walked over to see as well.

"Not much," Zach responded, "just some seeds and this disc." He showed them the contents of the package.

"Hmm…" Eevee examined the seeds. "I think those are Violent Seeds. They're used to give your attack a quick boost of power." She chuckled. "We probably could've used a few of those earlier."

"No way, that's an Energy Ball TM!" Bulbasaur interrupted excitedly, taking the disc out of the package. "I've been looking for one of these."

"TM? Energy Ball?"

Eevee sighed. "A TM is a disc that contains the knowledge of an attack on it," she explained. "Certain Pokemon can learn certain moves, like Bulbasaur can learn Energy Ball."

"Okay, but…"

Bulbasaur ran gleefully in between them. "Come on, let's see what this move can do," he said excitedly, pulling on Zach and Eevee. "Come on!"

"Ouch, quit pulling!"

"We're coming! We're coming!"

* * *

_At last, I've arrived._

Darkrai stood on the edge of a dark abyss in a dark forest. He was not shy about being out of his shadow form; no one could have followed him. Besides, if he sensed anyone nearby, he would simply melt away, invisible to the untrained eye. His journey back to his Master's lair had been long and tiring, but he wasn't complaining. The anticipation of the rewards the Master would reap was more than enough to keep him going.

"It's time to give him the news he's been hoping for," said Darkrai quietly to himself. He withdrew his legs and glided toward the edge of the abyss.

Suddenly, he heard a nearby bush rustle. _Someone's here_, he thought to himself. Cursing under his breath, he dissipated into a shadow, taking cover in the shadow of a large tree. He watched his surroundings carefully, trying to locate the intruder.

Just then, a pair of Rattata tumbled out from behind the bush, biting and snarling at one another. A sweat drop rolled down the back of Darkrai's head. _I was worried about that!?_ He sighed and came out from his hiding spot.

The Rattata spotted Darkrai and tried to run. "No, you don't…" His eyes glowed an ominous shade of violet as he summoned two small black orbs. "Dark Void!" He directed the orbs toward the fleeing trespassers. As soon as they were in range, the orbs engulfed the two Rattata and were absorbed by their bodies. Suddenly, they stopped in their tracks and collapsed to the ground in a deep sleep.

He glided over to check his handywork. The two poor Pokemon were tossing and turning in their sleep, as if being tortured by a nightmare. "Pleasant dreams…" Darkrai whispered as he moved toward the abyss, a smirk hidden on his dark face. Then, without hesitation, Darkrai dove into the abyss.

End Chapter 8


	10. Chapter 9: A Long Day's Night

**A/N: Well, I haven't done these for this story before, but if you've read _The Light in the Darkness_, I like to talk about things in a little introduction called the Author's Note (A/N for short).**

**Now, I'm sure some of you are asking, "What the heck took PokemonHero so long to post this chapter?" I want to apologize. I've been busy with school (mainly drama stuff). Not to mention I've been hard at work on _The Light in the Darkness_, which has become popular fairly quickly. So I have been working on this on-and-off for the past few months. But now, I'm happy to say, I've gotten it done.**

**I have been considering a new PMD story, but I've like the characters and all in this story that I felt like I should continue. But perhaps I'll stop talking and let you read. So here we go:**

**Chapter 9: A Long Day's Night**

Zach sat on top of a hill not far from Team Twilight's base. He looked out upon the landscape that lay before him. The red-orange evening sun was beginning to dip below the western horizon. A cool evening breeze wafted across the fields, causing the tall grasses to sway to and fro like waves in the ocean. The sounds of the Kricketot and Kricktune warming up for their evening concerto filled his ears. It was a great way to find solace after such a long and arduous day.

"I was wondering where you had wandered off to."

Zach turned around. Bulbasaur came walking up the hill behind him. "So what have you been up to?" Zach asked, noting that his teammate seemed a little bit tired.

"Well, I've been practicing my new move," he said as he sat down next to Zach. "But so far, it's been pretty tough. I just can't seem to get the right amount of energy into it." He seemed a little disappointed in himself.

Zach tried to cheer him up. "Come on, did you expect to learn that move in one day?" he said jokingly. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. Just give yourself some time."

"Yeah, I guess so," Bulbasaur conceded. "I didn't expect it to be so hard." He sighed. "So, what are you doing up here?"

"I was thinking about everything that happened today," Zach replied, looking back out over the fields below. "It was different from what I expected."

"Yeah, same here," said Bulbasaur. "But you really kicked some butt today. I've never seen someone take two big hits like you did and still be able to fight. It's a good thing your Blaze kicked in, or you would've been a goner."

"Blaze?" asked Zach, a puzzled look on his face. "What's Blaze?"

"You don't know what…Oh, right," Bulbasaur cut himself off after seeing Zach incredulous look. He thought for a moment of how to explain it. "Well, Blaze is a special ability that some Fire Pokemon have. Sometimes, when a Pokemon with such an ability gets into a very difficult situation, Blaze activates and they become temporally stronger."

_Interesting_, Zach thought to himself, remembering the battle earlier that day with Kabutops. He definitely felt a surge of power after he had taken some powerful hits. Especially when he had gotten up after that Aqua Jet. "So it's like a self-defense mechanism," he said, believing that he understood his ability.

"I guess you could say that…" Bulbasaur replied. "So Zach, you think you're getting the hang of being a Chimchar?"

Zach thought for a moment. "I guess so," he said in reply. "It's hard to get used to having all these awesome powers…"

"…And a flaming butt."

Zach shook his head and sighed. "I was trying to avoid the obvious."

"Right…" Bulbasaur said regretfully. "Probably shouldn't have gone there."

Zach couldn't help but chuckle. Bulbasaur always seemed to say the first thing that came to his mind. Yet he was as industrious a worker as Zach could ever recall meeting, even though he didn't have any memory past yesterday. But he could sense he had never met anyone that worked harder than Bulbasaur.

Zach decided to bring up a new subject. "So, how exactly does a TM work?" he inquired, wondering how the strange disk they had received as a reward was actually used.

Bulbasaur had to think for a moment. "It's hard to explain," he said in reply. "Well, first you have to be able to learn the actual move. Most Pokemon can only learn certain moves, mainly limited by their types or physical characteristics. I can learn moves like Energy Ball and Giga Drain by use of a TM. However, you can't learn these moves because you're a Fire-type. On the other hand, you can learn moves like Overheat and Will-o-wisp through a TM while I cannot. You with me so far?"

Zach nodded although, to be perfectly honest, he really had no clue what Bulbasaur was talking about. "So what do the disks actually do?" he asked.

"Well, the disks are infused with the knowledge of how to do the move," Bulbasaur explained. "How that works, I really don't know. But if a Pokemon comes in contact with a disk that contains a move they can learn, the knowledge is transferred from the disk to the Pokemon."

"So, it's that simple?"

Bulbasaur shook his head. "Not really," he answered. "Even if you have the knowledge to do the move, you still have to train yourself to be able to use it at will. It's almost impossible to master a new move in one day."

_That would explain Bulbasaur's nonstop practicing_, Zach concluded, thinking about how hard he had been working since they had returned.

"Zach! Bulbasaur!"

Zach's ears perked up. _That must be Eevee,_ he concluded, guessing by the feminine sound of the voice. He looked over at his comrade with a smile. "I guess dinner's ready," he said.

"That's good, I was getting hungry," said Bulbasaur, smiling as well. "Race you back to the base!"

"You're on!"

With that, the two friends charged from the hill back toward Team Twilight's base, leaving the setting sun behind them to continue own its silent journey beneath the horizon.

* * *

_Not this place again_.

Zach found himself standing in the same place he found himself the previous night, amongst the green mist. He looked around, trying to find his bearings in this strange dream world. Once again, he heard strange murmurs floating waywardly around him. For some reason, these undertones greatly troubled him.

"Zach…"

The voice resonated about him. "Who's there?" Zach shouted. There was no immediate response. Angrily, he swiped a cloud of green mist that had floated in front of him. "Your shenanigans have gone on long enough! Show yourself!"

"Shenanigans?" the voice responded curiously. "I'm sorry if I've not been very courteous, but do you know how hard it was trying to contact you?"

Zach nearly tripped over backward, so much surprised by getting a response. "Uh…"

"Don't answer. I've been trying to connect to your mind now for three days, and now that I've finally achieved full contact, you treat me like this? Perhaps I should leave…"

"No!" Zach exclaimed, surprised by the voice's shift in attitude. "I'm sorry. I was just a little annoyed by having a voice popping up in my head."

"Well…all right. I accept your apology."

A small pulsating ball of light drifted up from amongst the mist. Zach cautious approached the new presence, curious about what it could be. Suddenly, the ball expanded exponentially in size and luminosity, causing him to recoil in fright. _What the…?_ The sheer brilliance of the light blinded Zach, causing him to divert his eyes.

When the light had fade, he looked back found himself staring at an interesting creature floating in the air before him. She was a gray fairy-like creature, not too much bigger than he was. She had two tails, the ends of each encrusted with a red jewel. Her face was more of a magenta color, and had long, drooping appendages. In the middle of her forehead was yet another red gem. She looked over him with her bright yellow eyes.

"Hello, Zach," she greeted me cheerfully. "I am Mesprit, the Being of Emotions."

"How…how do you know my name?" Zach asked, still in shock of the appearance.

"Well, I know of you because of your past," she answered. "I know that you were human at one time."

"I knew it!" Zach exclaimed excitedly. "I knew I wasn't going insane!" But then, a new question arose in his mind. "But how exactly did I become a Chimchar?"

Mesprit shook her head. "Unfortunately, I cannot explain fully how that happened," she conceded. "At least, not in the time I have been allotted tonight."

"But you know…"

"Yes, I know. But that is for another time, my young friend. There's something else that is much more concerning at this time."

Zach was becoming progressively more annoyed with each response. He was this close to knowing why he was turned into a Chimchar and he was being refused the answer. "Then why have you contacted me?" he inquired bitterly, trying his best to cover back his discontent.

Mesprit opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly she started to fade in and out of focus. "I'm…sorry…the connection's…fail…" Then, almost as suddenly as she appeared to him, she disappeared.

Suddenly, Zach woke up, breathing heavily. He put his hand to his forehead, wiping off the sweat that had formed on his brow. He glanced around the dark base. Both Bulbasaur and Eevee were still asleep.

Still somewhat in shock of what just happened, Zach pulled himself to his feet and walked over to the table. Silently, he reflected on everything he saw. Tonight, he had gotten close to getting some sort of answer about his past. Had Mesprit not been so insistent on delivering her message, he could've gotten at least some useful insight on his past.

_But why is she trying to talk to me in the first place_, he wondered to himself. Was it because he had been human? Zach recalled Bulbasaur and Eevee's reactions when he had claimed of being human. It definitely was not a common event. But still, that didn't explain Mesprit's appearance.

Zach looked over toward Bulbasaur and Eevee. _Maybe I should tell them what I saw_, he contemplated to himself. However, he realized that if he did tell them about what had happened, he would end up having to confess everything. He shook his head. _I cannot do it_, he concluded morosely. _Maybe they could believe the dream, but everything else…_

But then, he thought about how friendly they had been to him. For some reason, he sensed the hospitality that they had shown him was unlike anything he had experienced before. And they seemed to believe that he was actually human at one time. Or at least that's what they said.

Zach buried his head in his arms. He couldn't decide what to do. Frustrated, he walked back over to his bed. It took a long time for him to get to sleep, indecision still plaguing his mind.

* * *

The next morning came all too early for Zach. Just as he felt like he was going to sleep, he found himself being awoken by Eevee (it was apparently Bulbasaur's turn to prepare for the mission). He was barely able to get the food in his mouth before he found himself being dragged out the door down to Treasure Town.

They met up with Bulbasaur just outside Kangaskhan Storage, storing excess items from their last mission. "So you were able to get him up," said Bulbasaur jokingly. He and Eevee chuckled a little at Zach's expense. Zach just shrugged it off.

"Okay, Bulbasaur, why don't you show Zach how to select a mission?" suggested Eevee. "I wanted to do something before we left."

"Good idea," Bulbasaur conceded. "Zach, come with me."

Bulbasaur motioned for Zach to follow her into the large Pelipper shaped building nearby. Zach followed, wondering what was inside the structure. Walking across the threshold of the doorway, he found himself in a large circular room. A few Pokemon were in the room camped around two bulletin boards on the opposite side of the room in particular. Between the two boards was a large opening leading outside. Every once in a while, a large white feathered bird would flutter into the room, waddle over to one of the boards and started tacking sheets of paper onto them.

"Over where those Pokemon are would be the Job Boards," said Bulbasaur. He pointed to the one on the left. "That board is for missions where you have to do things like rescue someone, escort a Pokemon to a certain location, or deliver something. The mission we did yesterday came from there." He then gesticulated toward the other board. "That board is for missions that require a team to capture an outlaw."

Zach looked over at Bulbasaur a little curiously. "Outlaws?" he asked.

He nodded. "Most outlaws are just thieves who steal things or cause a nuisance. But there are some that are a little more volatile. But we're not going to worry about them. For now, let's just get another rescue mission."

"How do we do that?"

"It's simple. First we choose a mission off the board. Once it's in your possession, it's your mission."

Zach and Bulbasaur made their way over to the board. Zach got there first. He was amazed by the number of sheets of paper that were covering the bulletin board. "There sure are a lot of choices."

Bulbasaur came up next to him, also looking at the board curiously. "That's odd," he said, ignoring the other Pokemon reaching around him to grab jobs off the board. "There's a lot more jobs than usual."

"Could that mean something has happened?" asked Zach.

He shook his head. "I don't know. I would think we would've heard something about it if that were the case." He looked over the board, trying to find a good mission.

As he watched, Zach remembered something that Mesprit said in the dream the previous night. _There's something else that is much more concerning at this time._ Did Mesprit want to tell him about something that happened that no one else knew of?

"Here we go!"

Bulbasaur took a piece of paper off the board and came over to Zach, who was still lost in thought about the dream. "Hey Zach, are you okay?" he asked, nudging him gently on the arm.

Zach quickly returned to reality. "Oh, what? Sorry Bulbasaur, I was just thinking," he said, trying to reassure him. "So, you've got a mission."

He nodded. "Yep, a fairly simple one actually. We would just have to go to Lush Prairie and rescue a Shuckle that's lost out there," he said, smiling. "We would be back before lunch time."

"Heh-heh. Sounds like a good mission to me."

Suddenly, someone reached out and ripped the mission from Bulbasaur's grip. "Hey! Who did that?" he snapped angrily. He and Zach turned around to find themselves facing Nuzleaf and Sneasel.

"Thanks for the mission, losers," Nuzleaf taunted, waving the mission in front of their faces.

Bulbasaur glared angrily at him. "Give us back our mission," he growled.

"Wrong, pal," Sneasel chided, trying to provoke. "It's our mission now. Consider this payment for taking our mission yesterday."

"Wait a minute," Zach interrupted, standing between Bulbasaur and Team DarkBlade. "What do you mean we took your mission?"

"Well, we took a job that called for us to rescue an injured Starly in Drenched Bluff," Nuzleaf began, keeping the mission well out of everyone's reach. "We get there and there's no Starly. We figured that perhaps it was outdated or something. But guess who we find helping a Starly back into town?"

Zach swallowed hard. They had indeed rescued Starly, even though it wasn't their mission. "Look, we're sorry, but we found Starly badly hurt and we couldn't leave him behind."

Sneasel chuckled. "A likely excuse. We will consider a free mission fair payment for taking our mission." He looked at his partner. "Come on, let's get out of here." With that, he and Nuzleaf left with their ill-gotten mission.

Bulbasaur shook his head. "Man, I hate those guys," he spat, trying to keep his composure.

"Why do you guys not get along?" asked Zach. "I mean, aren't they supposed to be a rescue team as well?"

"Well, yeah, they _are_," said Bulbasaur. "But they're more bullies than anything else. Except for Shuppet. She's actually pretty nice."

Just then, Eevee came in to the Post Office and spotted Zach and Bulbasaur. "Hey guys," she said as she approached her teammates. "Have you chosen a mission yet?"

Zach shook his head. "We had one, but Sneasel and Nuzleaf took it." He explained what had happened moments before.

Eevee sighed disappointedly. "Well, that's no surprise," she said. "They think they have entitlement to do whatever they want." She now looked over to Bulbasaur as well. "Let's just try to get a mission before everyone else takes them all."

Zach and Bulbasaur nodded in agreement and they all went to the Job Board. _Now then, what mission to choose?_ Zach contemplated, looking over the bulletin board. He remembered what Bulbasaur told him about job ranks the previous morning, so he kept that in mind.

Just then, he spotted a fairly interesting mission. It was a B-ranked mission, a much more difficult mission than the one they had done already. But it was only to the seventh floor of a dungeon called Apple Woods. He didn't think it would be likely that they would get into major trouble in just seven floors.

"Hey Bulbasaur, Eevee," he said turning to his teammates. "How about this one?"

Zach's teammates came over and looked over the mission themselves. "This looks like it could be a tough one, Zach," Eevee said skeptically, handing it back to Zach. "Do you think we could do this?"

Zach nodded. "We'll be fine," he replied confidently. "I mean, it's not like we're going to be running into a Kabutops again."

Bulbasaur and Eevee looked at each other for a moment, but they nodded in agreement, Eevee a little more reluctantly than Bulbasaur. "I guess we could give it a try," Bulbasaur said. "Besides, we would have an advantage there against the Bug and Grass type Pokemon there."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

And thus, the three friends began their second mission. Bulbasaur and Zach burst out of the Post Office, extremely confident and ready to conquer Apple Woods with ease. However, Eevee lagged behind slightly. She wasn't sure it was such a good idea to go into those woods. Something told her it wasn't going to be an easy day for her.


End file.
